illness
Americannoun
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illnesses
plural
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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.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
In May, Tyler was placed into an induced coma after having emergency intestinal surgery in Portugal, but later died "as a result of the illness that she was being treated for", her family said.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
The results show that dormant viruses can reactivate frequently in people who appear to have functioning immune systems during severe illness, particularly when systemic inflammation is elevated.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 16, 2026
Zhu Rongji, a former premier who steered China toward Western market principles and championed its entry into the World Trade Organization, died Wednesday after an illness, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
He passed away from illness in Beijing late Wednesday morning "after medical treatment failed to save him", state news agency Xinhua said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
How slowly they moved, walking as though they had just gotten over a long illness!
From "Carry On, Mr. Bowditch" by Jean Lee Latham
It added it was not aware of any specific illnesses linked to its products.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The company said it was not aware of any illnesses linked to the products but that it was withdrawing them across 26 US states.
From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026
In July, federal agencies linked Taylor-supplied shredded iceberg lettuce, served at some Taco Bell locations, to thousands of cyclosporiasis illnesses across multiple states.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Early is interested in the sickly vanity of eating disorders and conceptual femininity, and he explores the danger of these illnesses through a lens that is both uneasy and unique to his film.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
And the state has rules about children and extended illnesses and contagious diseases, and it doesn't matter what kind of a school the kid attends.
From "Things Not Seen" by Andrew Clements
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.
