terminal illness

American  

[tur-muh-nl il-nis] / ˈtɜr mə nl ˈɪl nɪs /

Sometimes life-limiting illness

noun

terminal illnesses plural

1. a disease or condition that cannot be cured and will almost certainly lead to death.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• terminal illnesses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of terminal illness

First recorded in 1860–65

Example Sentences

After MSPs expressed concerns at stage one, the bill now explicitly says that disability and mental illness alone do not constitute terminal illness.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

This comes as MSPs in Scotland prepare to vote on their own assisted dying bill on Tuesday, that would allow mentally competent adults with a terminal illness to seek medical help to end their lives.

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2026

In 2010, she was a finalist for the National Book Award for “So Much for That,” an empathetic account of a married couple facing terminal illness within a ruthless American health-care system.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

This time her 343rd “charge” is a hapless 87-year old CEO oil tycoon K. J. Boone unwilling to pass over from the “baffling country” of terminal illness toward its “inevitable occurrence.”

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 26, 2026

I think most people with a terminal illness have struggled with this.

From "Five Feet Apart" by Rachael Lippincott