ill 1 of 3

adjective

ˈil How to pronounce ill (audio)
Definition of illnext
1
as in sick
affected with nausea she grew ill from the constant rocking motion of the boat

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm one of the ill effects of winter weather is the rapid spread of germs as people spend more time together indoors

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poorly
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body since I'm ill, I guess that I'll just have to miss that dental appointment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in poor
falling short of a standard such ill behavior will not be tolerated

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
5
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come the abrupt breakdown of negotiations appears to be an ill omen for this ongoing hostage situation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

ill

2 of 3

adverb

1
as in severely
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering in those days society treated debtors very ill, even going so far as to put them in prison

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in no
certainly not you can ill afford to miss another day of work

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

ill

3 of 3

noun

1
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning chicken pox and the other ills that were once a fixture of childhood

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in evil
that which is morally unacceptable idealistic people who try to cure all of our society's ills

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in misfortune
bad luck or an example of this the travelers merrily set off on their journey, scarcely imagining the ills that would befall them

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ill
Adjective
Among the 62 guests onboard, 18 reported being ill during the National Geographic Sea Bird’s July 10 voyage, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. — Nathan Diller, USA Today, 17 July 2026 Brenda Fricker, a Best Supporting Actress Oscar winner for My Left Foot who had a memorable role inHome Alone 2, has died after a period of ill health, according to her agent. — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 17 July 2026
Adverb
As pathologists themselves fell ill or took time away to quarantine, already thin ranks were stretched even further. — Gregory McDonald, STAT, 13 July 2026 Ana Navarro believes that people shouldn’t speak ill of the dead. — Emlyn Travis, Entertainment Weekly, 13 July 2026
Noun
But that also eradicates a crucial option - to mount a show trial and scapegoat him for all the ills of his rule, thus absolving others. — Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 Through humor, the master is about to expose humanity's ills. — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for ill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill
  1. sick
  2. harmful
  3. poorly
  4. poor
  5. ominous
  6. severely
  7. no
  8. disease
Adjective
  • Lake Jesup, one of Central Florida’s largest water bodies, is also one of its sickest.
    — Martin E. Comas, The Orlando Sentinel, 19 July 2026
  • What To Do Now Just washing produce doesn’t typically get rid of cyclospora, so the best way to avoid getting sick is to avoid food that could’ve been contaminated.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 17 July 2026
Definition of sick
Adjective
  • Your liver is responsible for breaking down toxins and filtering them out of the body, essentially detoxifying you from harmful substances and chemicals.
    — Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 22 July 2026
  • At our previous Yale CEO Caucus, over two-thirds of CEOs surveyed told us that Trump’s tariffs had been harmful to their own businesses, and 80% said that tariff costs had been passed on in part to consumers.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 22 July 2026
Definition of harmful
Adjective
  • This fragmented model creates friction and quietly drains profitability through unbilled hours, margin erosion from poorly staffed projects and elevated turnover when top talent hits operational roadblocks.
    — DJ Paoni, Forbes.com, 10 Sep. 2025
  • For however poorly things are going — and the bad tone set by the starters has leaked into some defensive lapses and some pressing at the plate — the Padres got themselves into a really favorable position before this.
    — Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Sep. 2025
Definition of poorly
Adjective
  • Madrid had a poor 2024-25, failing to win the Spanish title or the Champions League, but Mbappe still scored 42 goals in 44 appearances.
    — Tim Spiers, New York Times, 21 July 2026
  • Using Neanderthal cranium shapes to estimate specific brain regions’ volume, some investigators claimed to see signs of a mind with feeble linguistic abilities, poor executive function and an unremarkable memory.
    — Cody Cottier, Scientific American, 20 July 2026
Definition of poor
Adjective
  • The ominous acts would later be debunked and deemed fake by the FBI in July.
    — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 20 July 2026
  • Things are also tough for their friends, Elle (Yasmin Finney) and Tao (William Gao), whose constant bickering seems to be an ominous portent for their on-again-off-again relationship.
    — David Mack, CNN Money, 17 July 2026
Definition of ominous
Adverb
  • In the following days, Beretti’s right knee swelled severely, according to her health department complaint.
    — Ella Moore July 23, Miami Herald, 23 July 2026
  • With employees bombarded by hundreds of daily notifications and attention spans shrinking to mere seconds, true productivity and complex decision-making are severely hampered.
    — Cheryl Robinson, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
Definition of severely
Adverb
  • For a fun pair of statement pants, look no further than these baggy striped bottoms.
    — Emily Weaver, PEOPLE, 19 July 2026
  • For a throw-on-and-go set, look no further than this matching tank top and shorts set from Idealsanxun, now on sale for less than $40.
    — Sophie Dodd, Travel + Leisure, 18 July 2026
Definition of no
Noun
  • DeepMind’s AlphaFold, for example, has used to AI to make available new structures for more than 200 million proteins, opening new pathways for research into disease and medicine.
    — Belonging Forum, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • The lab got its start with studies of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the 1900s, when ranchers and cattle were dying from the then-unknown disease.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
Definition of disease

Phrases Containing ill

Browse Nearby Words

ilks
ill
ill-advised
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Ill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill. Accessed 27 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on ill

Nglish: Translation of ill for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of parochial

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 24

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Democracy or Republic: What's the difference?

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
chain-question-mark
Missing Link Quiz July 2026 Five seconds to figure out the word that fits bot...
See All