illness
Americannoun
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poor health; sickness.
He grew up in an environment known for poverty, illness, and little opportunity for education.
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a specific sickness or disease, or an instance of such.
Please be as accurate as possible in listing your childhood illnesses.
- Synonyms:
- infirmity, affliction, ailment
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Obsolete. wickedness.
noun
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a disease or indisposition; sickness
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a state of ill health
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obsolete wickedness
Usage
What does illness mean? Illness is a state of poor health or sickness, as in I’ve had to miss a lot of work due to illness. The word illness is also commonly used to refer to a disease or instance of sickness. This sense of the word is often used when the type of disease is uncertain or unknown or when someone doesn’t want to specify what it is, as in They said that he is in the hospital with an illness, but they didn’t provide any further details. The word illness is based on the adjective ill, meaning sick. Example: The best way to avoid illness is to thoroughly wash your hands.
Etymology
Origin of illness
Compare meaning
How does illness compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Many wished for strength to combat physical or mental illness.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 10, 2026
Higher intakes are sometimes needed during illness, frailty or recovery, unless someone has been advised to restrict protein because of kidney disease or another condition.
From Science Daily • Jun. 6, 2026
The just-quirky-girls-at-a-country-club mood does eventually turn darker, but the musical, like some other works of art about mental illness, often falls into the trap of romanticizing it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 5, 2026
Portugal forward Jota and his brother Andre Silva, tragically died in a car crash last July, while Konate's dad Hamady passed away in January after a long illness.
From BBC • Jun. 3, 2026
They felt as if they knew him intimately, like a family member in the upstairs bedroom struggling to recover from an illness.
From "Ambushed!" by Gail Jarrow
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
