ill

Meaning

Adv

Not well; imperfectly, badly

Adj

1. (obsolete) Evil; wicked (of people).
2. (archaic) Morally reprehensible (of behaviour etc.); blameworthy.
3. Indicative of unkind or malevolent intentions; harsh, cruel.
4. Unpropitious, unkind, faulty, not up to reasonable standard.
5. Unwell in terms of health or physical condition; sick.
6. Nauseated; having an urge to vomit.
7. (slang) Sublime, with the connotation of being so in a singularly creative way.
8. (slang) Extremely bad (bad enough to make one ill). Generally used indirectly with to be.
9. (dated) Unwise; not a good idea.
10. (Appalachia) Bad-tempered.

Noun

1. (countable, uncountable) Trouble; distress; misfortune; adversity.
2. (countable, uncountable) Harm or injury.
3. (countable, uncountable) Evil; moral wrongfulness.
4. (countable, uncountable) A physical ailment; an illness.
5. (US, slang, uncountable) PCP, phencyclidine.

Verb

To behave aggressively.

Synonyms

sick

🤢

bad

👎

unwell

ailing

badly

evil

diseased

unhealthy

suffer

ailment

hurt

sickly

illness

painful

poorly

indisposed

inauspicious

ache

sickness

become sick

wicked

feel sick

weak

sick of

fall ill

sore

complaint

have a fever

feel unwell

be sick

get ill

wrong

vicious

unfortunate

feeble

fall sick

patient

nasty

maleficent

naughtily

infirm

ominous

disease

harm

immoral

tough

dirty

detriment

big

deplorable

Translations

malade

🤢

enfermo

🤢

krank

🤢

ziek

🤢

malato

🤢

ammalato

🤢

άρρωστος

malalt

🤢

naar

aeger

🤢

mal

doente

🤢

enfermo

🤢

aegrotus

🤢

Pronounced as (IPA)

/ɪl/

Etymology

Inherited from Middle English: ille

Cognate with Icelandic: illur

Cognate with Norwegian: ille

Cognate with Danish: ilde

Cognate with Latin: ulcus

Cognate with Ancient Greek: ἕλκος

Cognate with Sanskrit: अर्शस्

In summary

From Middle English ille (“evil; wicked”), from Old Norse illr (adjective), illa (adverb), ilt (noun), from Proto-Germanic *ilhilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elḱ- (whence Latin ulcus (“sore”), Ancient Greek ἕλκος (hélkos, “wound, ulcer”), Sanskrit अर्शस् (árśas, “hemorrhoids”)).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots and Yola ill, Danish ilde (“bad”), Faroese, Icelandic illur (“bad, ill, wicked”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk ille (“bad”), Swedish illa (“badly; poorly”).

Sentences

He had been ill for one month .

It's an ill bird that fouls its own nest .