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.
But even when impacted by injury and illness, Canada still have the strongest team.
From BBC
But the teenager says her "future is on hold" after being diagnosed with a rare chronic illness that leaves her unable to sit up.
From BBC
The state law governing involuntary commitments and conservatorships for people with severe mental illness is known as the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act, and it includes the commonly used Section 5150 for those deemed “gravely disabled.”
From Los Angeles Times
Anna de Peyster, a writer, philanthropist and a former wife of Rupert Murdoch, has died following a long illness.
Because these conditions are also tied to dementia, researchers have questioned whether polluted air raises Alzheimer's risk indirectly by contributing to those illnesses, or whether it harms the brain more directly.
From Science Daily
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.
