ill-being

noun

Definition of ill-beingnext
as in unhappiness

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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-being Their findings, some previously covered in Fortune, draw on a deep dataset spanning dozens of countries to confirm that ill-being is no longer hump-shaped in age — the young are now the most miserable cohort globally. — Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 6 July 2026 Based on a dataset covering 34 countries from 2020 to 2023 from Sapien Labs’ Global Mind Project, the authors showed that ill-being is currently at higher levels at younger ages—and the trend is not a hump shape—across these countries. — Deena Mousa, Scientific American, 12 July 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill-being
  1. unhappiness
  2. sadness
  3. misery
  4. calamity
  5. wretchedness
  6. sorrow
Noun
  • And while there’d been some unhappiness between her and the Borden girls a few years before the murders — a disagreement over a property the family owned — there wasn’t the kind of outright resentment portrayed in the show.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 23 Sep. 2026
  • The post and later comments arrived two months before the midterm elections, where Americans’ unhappiness with persistent high inflation has been a dominant theme.
    — Kevin Breuninger, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of unhappiness
Noun
  • Beat shows how so many of the sounds that were prevalent in the mid-’90s contained a unique, end-of-the century sadness.
    — Sadie Sartini Garner, Pitchfork, 4 Oct. 2026
  • People can experience grief, sadness, relief, conflict or combinations of these emotions after any pregnancy outcome.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of sadness
Noun
  • Cubs fans generally don’t care about the Sox, so their misery was focused solely on their team’s no-show performance at Petco Park.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The origin story helps contextualize the misery and self-isolation of Cathy’s later years, as the madam of a Salinas whorehouse.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of misery
Noun
  • The toxic loans were also packaged and peddled around the world to banks everywhere, resulting in a calamity.
    — Gary Franks, Hartford Courant, 25 Sep. 2026
  • During each and every move, some sort of financial calamity resulted.
    — Sean Conlon, CNBC, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of calamity
Noun
  • As our cantankerous lead, Molina harumphs lovably from scene to scene, conveying both his character’s indomitable will and the wretchedness of his grief.
    — Graham Hillard, The Washington Examiner, 31 May 2026
  • Director Penny Lane interviews jazz critics who howl at his wretchedness, then balances it with fans who simply don’t care.
    — Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
Definition of wretchedness
Noun
  • Because so many of Gunn’s friends died in San Francisco, a city where Gunn had found happiness and freedom, then these elegies are also a monument to a time of communal sorrow and mourning.
    — Colm Tóibín, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Another decision that those who are rejected face, at least if anger is mixed in with sorrow, is where to direct that anger.
    — George Loewenstein, Vogue, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of sorrow

Browse Nearby Words

illaudable
ill-being
ill-beings
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Cite this Entry

“Ill-being.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill-being. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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