as in diseases
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of illnesses
Miyahara is the president and CEO of the San Diego Community Housing Corporation, and Morales-Roth is executive director of the Emilio Nares Foundation, a nonprofit that supports children facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.
—
Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Crawling the walls Orson Welles learned to draw from his mother, who informally homeschooled the budding artist during his childhood, which was marked by grave illnesses including malaria and diphtheria.
—Michelle Duncan, Architectural Digest, 22 Apr. 2026
Indigestion has long plagued us, and before modern medicine and hygiene, foodborne illnesses were as widespread as their causes were misunderstood.
—Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026
Exposure to particulate matter has been connected to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
—Doug Brugge, The Conversation, 22 Apr. 2026
Pneumococcal Adults 50 and older are now eligible for the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against a bacterial infection that can cause pneumonia and other serious illnesses, Nadolne said.
—Rachel Brown Kirkland, AJC.com, 21 Apr. 2026
So far during the 2025-26 season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been at least 31 million illnesses, 380,000 hospitalizations and 23,000 deaths from flu.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026
Cases of two different types of severe diarrhea-causing illnesses are on the rise in the United States.
—Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 20 Apr. 2026
Aging and damaged brain cells, or neurons, can cause memory problems and limit the brain’s ability to recover from illnesses.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2026
Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Apr. 2026
Crawling the walls Orson Welles learned to draw from his mother, who informally homeschooled the budding artist during his childhood, which was marked by grave illnesses including malaria and diphtheria.
—Michelle Duncan, Architectural Digest, 22 Apr. 2026
Indigestion has long plagued us, and before modern medicine and hygiene, foodborne illnesses were as widespread as their causes were misunderstood.
—Big Think, 22 Apr. 2026
Exposure to particulate matter has been connected to respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses as well as neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
—Doug Brugge, The Conversation, 22 Apr. 2026
Pneumococcal Adults 50 and older are now eligible for the pneumococcal vaccine, which protects against a bacterial infection that can cause pneumonia and other serious illnesses, Nadolne said.
—Rachel Brown Kirkland, AJC.com, 21 Apr. 2026
So far during the 2025-26 season, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates there have been at least 31 million illnesses, 380,000 hospitalizations and 23,000 deaths from flu.
—Luis Martinez, ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026
Cases of two different types of severe diarrhea-causing illnesses are on the rise in the United States.
—Rob Williams, EverydayHealth.com, 20 Apr. 2026
Aging and damaged brain cells, or neurons, can cause memory problems and limit the brain’s ability to recover from illnesses.
—K. R. Callaway, Scientific American, 17 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for illnesses
Noun
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Repeat expansions have been shown in lots of neurological diseases.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
24 Apr. 2026
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Plants growing in crowded conditions with poor air circulation are an ideal breeding ground for fungal diseases to spread.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) played in only two games, while quarterback Lamar Jackson missed four games and played through various nagging ailments in others.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
17 Apr. 2026
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And as an athlete, I was faced with so many different physical ailments, from muscle soreness, back strains, muscle tears, broken ankles, to my bigger crashes and all of those things.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
16 Apr. 2026
Noun
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The symptoms of our darkest cultural sicknesses become visible.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Mar. 2026
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From the moment the kids set foot back at school in the fall, until some time around spring break, parents can expect sicknesses to take over their homes faster than the latest viral slang expression.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
10 Jan. 2026
Noun
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And this one guy at this one firm can't solve all of his industry's ills.—
Sam Yellowhorse Kesler,
NPR,
8 Apr. 2026
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Even as professional coders are becoming increasingly enthusiastic about the power of AI coding tools, many end users still see them as a boogeyman to instantly blame for any and all observed ills in the tech industry.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 Apr. 2026
Noun
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In addition to fevers and continuous, watery diarrhea, rotavirus symptoms in babies and children can also include loss of appetite and dehydration, per the NFID.—
Angel Saunders,
PEOPLE,
16 Apr. 2026
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Old Herald clippings from 1986 reported about homeowners toilets and sinks smelling like gas, a 3-year-old getting rashes and fevers from drinking the well water and fear of driers exploding.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Gaza’s most dire conditions — the lack of food and medicine, continuing Israeli attacks, destroyed hospitals, schools and residential buildings, homelessness and overcrowding — now include rodents, climbing temperatures and open-air sewage.—
Matt Bradley,
NBC news,
25 Apr. 2026
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The office is responsible for fiscal control over the disbursement and receipts of public dollars and issues regular reports on the financial conditions of local and state governments.—
William Melhado,
Sacbee.com,
25 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Illnesses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/illnesses. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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