ill
adjective
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ill
1 American
[il]
/ ɪl /
adjective
worse,
worst,
iller,
illest
-
of unsound physical or mental health; unwell; sick.
She felt ill, so her teacher sent her to the nurse.
-
objectionable; unsatisfactory; poor; faulty.
ill manners.
-
ill feeling.
-
of ill repute.
- Synonyms:
- iniquitous, wrong
- Antonyms:
- good
-
ill fortune.
-
of inferior worth or ability; unskillful; inexpert.
an ill example of scholarship.
-
His mom is the illest cook.
noun
-
ills
plural
-
an unfavorable opinion or statement.
I can speak no ill of her.
-
harm or injury.
His remarks did much ill.
- Synonyms:
- misery, affliction, pain, hurt
-
trouble, distress, or misfortune.
Many ills befell him.
- Synonyms:
- calamity
-
evil.
to know the difference between good and ill.
- Synonyms:
- depravity
-
sickness or disease.
- Synonyms:
- affliction, illness
adverb
-
in an ill manner.
-
unsatisfactorily; poorly.
It ill befits a man to betray old friends.
-
in a hostile or unfriendly manner.
-
unfavorably; unfortunately.
-
with displeasure or offense.
-
faultily; improperly.
-
with difficulty or inconvenience; scarcely.
Buying a new car is an expense we can ill afford.
idioms
I'll
2
American
[ahyl]
/ aɪl /
ill.
3
American
abbreviation
-
illustrated.
-
illustration.
-
illustrator.
-
most illustrious.
Ill.
4
American
abbreviation
ill
1
British
/ ɪl /
adjective
-
(usually postpositive) not in good health; sick
-
characterized by or intending evil, harm, etc; hostile
ill deeds
-
causing or resulting in pain, harm, adversity, etc
ill effects
-
ascribing or imputing evil to something referred to
ill repute
-
promising an unfavourable outcome; unpropitious
an ill omen
-
harsh; lacking kindness
ill will
-
not up to an acceptable standard; faulty
ill manners
-
unable to relax; uncomfortable
noun
-
evil or harm
to wish a person ill
-
a mild disease
-
misfortune; trouble
adverb
-
badly
the title ill befits him
-
with difficulty; hardly
he can ill afford the money
-
not rightly
she ill deserves such good fortune
Ill.
2
British
abbreviation
I'll
3
British
/ aɪl /
contraction
ill
More Idioms
Grammar
See well 1.
Usage
What are other ways to say ill? The adjective ill is defined as “evil; wicked; bad.” However, it’s not used in exactly the same way as any of those synonyms! Learn the difference among these terms on Thesaurus.com.
Synonym Usage
Ill, sick mean being in bad health, not being well. Ill is the more formal word. In the U. S. the two words are used practically interchangeably except that sick is always used when the word modifies the following noun: He looks sick ( ill ); a sick person. In England, sick is not interchangeable with ill, but usually has the connotation of nauseous: She got sick and threw up. sick, however, is used before nouns just as in the U. S.: a sick man.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ill1
1150–1200; Middle English ill ( e ) (noun and adj.) < Old Norse illr (adj.) ill, bad
Origin of ill.3
ill. ( def. 4 ) < Latin illustrissimus
Explanation
If you're ill, you're unwell, or sick. Being ill is a good excuse for missing work or school. You might get ill after being sneezed on by someone with a cold; or eating street food in a foreign country; or for no reason that you can point to. People can be mentally ill as well as physically ill, from depression or anxiety among other ailments. Ill can also mean "bad" in various ways, including when you suffer ill effects from going too long without sleep, or exercise ill judgment when you buy $500 worth of lottery tickets.
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:
What’s the use of punishing a terminally ill man?
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
A similar "early warning" system to identify acutely ill adults, including those with sepsis, is already in use in emergency and general NHS hospital wards.
From BBC ● Nov. 2, 2026
Mr. Blyth exudes a bland wholesomeness that’s an ill fit for the cynicism and cocky humor that define his character.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
Care for an ill person under 40 was particularly high — $4,700 more per year than the out-of-pocket average.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 28, 2026
When Mr. Haber had announced that she was ill, I’d had a nagging feeling that it wasn’t true.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
“The bureaucracy looks at elected officials like, ‘I was here before you got here, and I’ll be here long after you leave.’”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Some are specific brands; others I’ll happily buy from whichever label happens to be on sale.
From Salon ● Nov. 5, 2026
"I keep waiting for something to sort of hit home. I guess one day I'll start declining but that doesn't keep me up at night."
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Why is it so much more enjoyable on a sixth or eighth viewing than “Club Kid,” a movie I’ll probably never see again?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
"You men are being punished for your bad behavior," Don Quixote told the convicts, "but since I know you don't want to go where you're being taken, I'll ask this guard to set you free."
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
"He was critically ill. His heart stopped as soon as he arrived. We had to perform CPR," said lead author Ankit Bharat, a thoracic surgeon at Northwestern University.
From Science Daily ● Mar. 18, 2026
"All of these people have had hepatitis C for more than three decades; some are very ill. A more proactive approach is critical to reaching and diagnosing those who remain unaware of their infection."
From BBC ● May 18, 2025
Another shares: "When I see someone making really small repetitive movements, such as my husband bending his toes, I feel physically ill. I hold it back but I want to vomit."
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2024
"Tatler, you should be ashamed putting this on the cover. A child would have done a better job. I’m so angry you've done this whilst she is so ill. Shame on you."
From Salon ● May 23, 2024
“He’s ill. Can you ... ? “Can I see to it that he is given his share of whatever Bridgebane provides?
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
Rivian produced 19,751 vehicles at its facility in Normal, Ill., and delivered 19,248 vehicles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 30, 2026
In June, real-estate investor Justin Smith closed on a duplex in Roscoe, Ill. — about 90 miles west of Chicago — for $250,000.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 17, 2026
While the original location closed in 2020, there are still locations in Oakbrook, Ill., and Pittsburgh.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2026
The effort is attracting customers like Lexi Carman, who recently drove 30 minutes from Beecher, Ill., to bring her two kids and two nieces to the Schererville location.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 30, 2026
I was born on March 9, 1943 in Chicago, Ill. U.S.A.
From "Endgame" by Frank Brady
But our fragmented healthcare system is also a factor in so many of the ills that afflict ordinary American households within the sphere of “affordability.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Pawlikowski has said that he keeps returning to the past in his films because addressing our modern ills directly would be too daunting.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026
Time, perhaps, to question whether he's got the answers to the myriad ills of his team.
From BBC ● Sep. 20, 2026
To remedy these ills, the court needs top-to-bottom reform.
From Slate ● Jul. 29, 2026
The vice president of the Durham Merchants Association complained, with some justification, that the business community was being blamed for all of Durham’s ills.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
"If you have a generally iller population, that's not good for the residents, it's not good for productivity, it's not good for the economy.'"
From BBC ● May 25, 2023
This gave him an unnatural appearance and made him look iller than ever.
From The New Yorker ● Dec. 30, 2019
He got iller and iller and iller, and of course he died in the beginning of 2015 when some of the other things had started appearing in the press.
From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2016
Still, in his older, iller years, he's become kinder, even to himself, and though he wished he'd done some stuff better, he could live with it.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 23, 2012
A lot of lassies like yon will be iller to keep together than a flock of sheep.
From The Lady of the Shroud by Bram Stoker
The Black neighborhoods like Baldwin Hills Estates, Ladera Heights and View Park all sit hillside with some of the illest views in the city.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
His wife was told she should prepare for the worst, with staff describing her husband as "one of the illest people they'd ever seen".
From BBC ● May 21, 2024
Rapper Travis Scott told his nearly 12 million followers on X, the site formerly known as Twitter, that Monday “might be one for the illest days in women’s sports historyyyyyyy.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 2, 2024
Blaze is just one of the illest low heads.
From Salon ● Mar. 6, 2021
Not knowing is worse than the very illest news.
From Grey Town An Australian Story by Gerald Baldwin
"Consider the impact of global rolling news footage of Notre Dame-like flames licking out of the building's roof, resulting in the destruction of our heritage, or worse, injuries or loss of life," he added.
From BBC ● Nov. 5, 2026
Even worse, that anxiety was associated with lower occupational prestige and ultimately lower income three years later.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
“Nobody knows whether this selloff is going to get worse before it gets better,” said Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at Jones Trading.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
It was at the very first Coachella in ’99, so I guess for better or worse, everything is full circle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 4, 2026
“If you don’t get rid of that net, young man, you’re going to be in a worse fix than Gandy is. Now, you better believe that.”
From "Summer of the Monkeys" by Wilson Rawls
Semiconductor shares took their worst pounding in more than six years, and the Nasdaq index lost an estimated $2.5 trillion in market value.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
She is one of many people who spoke to the BBC about their worst job interview experiences after we wrote about the one interview question that leaves you feeling uncomfortable.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
The mayor, having spent her entire adult life in public service, had made the worst decision of her career by leaving town in January 2025 despite conditions that led to the incineration of Pacific Palisades.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Sentiment toward AI stocks has been unambiguously negative in recent weeks and the midterm results might suggest to some investors that the sector’s worst fears were realized.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
It was the worst memory he had, and it latched onto his brain like a leech.
From "The Way to Rio Luna" by Zoraida Cordova
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