ILLNESS Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

illness

noun

ˈil-nəs

as in disease

an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning suffered from a mysterious illness that left her weak and tired all the time

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sickness

the condition of not being in good health prone to illness as a child, he was sent to a western ranch with the expectation that it would toughen him up

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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 illness Not all illnesses are equally dangerous and not all people are equally susceptible to those illnesses. —

Janet Loehrke, USA Today, 18 Mar. 2026 And scientists are finally starting to agree and document on a cellular level that social and psychological trauma, even that experienced by your relatives before you were born, can express itself physically as various illnesses throughout a body for years and yes, even across generations. —

Literary Hub, 18 Mar. 2026 But as has been the case at each of his six stops during his 10-year NBA career, injuries and illness haunted Porzingis’ time in Boston. —

Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2026 But among the most vulnerable on the island are those who are dealing with illnesses. —

Carmen Sesin, NBC news, 18 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for illness

Recent Examples of Synonyms for illness

Noun

Dane was diagnosed last April with ALS, a disease that attacks nerves in the brain and spinal cord, stealing a person's ability to walk, breathe and often speak.

— Brittney Melton, NPR, 18 Mar. 2026
There is enormous pressure on these companies to optimize AI to make money in the short term by convincing people to use it, rather than advance science or cure disease in the long term, and to create systems that entirely replace workers rather than merely help them.

— J. Xavier Prochaska, Mercury News, 18 Mar. 2026