ill definition | Dictionary.com

ill

[il]

adjective, worse, worst, noun, adverb

–adjective

1.	of unsound physical or mental health; unwell; sick: She felt ill, so her teacher sent her to the nurse.

2.	objectionable; unsatisfactory; poor; faulty: ill manners.

3.	hostile; unkindly: ill feeling.

4.	evil; wicked; bad: of ill repute.

5.	unfavorable; adverse: ill fortune.

6.	of inferior worth or ability; unskillful; inexpert: an ill example of scholarship.

–noun

7.	an unfavorable opinion or statement: I can speak no ill of her.

8.	harm or injury: His remarks did much ill.

9.	trouble, distress, or misfortune: Many ills befell him.

10.	evil: to know the difference between good and ill.

11.	sickness or disease.

–adverb

12.	in an ill manner.

13.	unsatisfactorily; poorly: It ill befits a man to betray old friends.

14.	in a hostile or unfriendly manner.

15.	unfavorably; unfortunately.

16.	with displeasure or offense.

17.	faultily; improperly.

18.	with difficulty or inconvenience; scarcely: Buying a new car is an expense we can ill afford.

—Idiom

19.	ill at ease, socially uncomfortable; nervous: They were ill at ease because they didn't speak the language.

Origin:
1150–1200; ME ill(e) (n. and adj.) < ON illr (adj.) ill, bad

Synonyms:
1. unhealthy, ailing, diseased, afflicted. 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. 4. wrong, iniquitous. See bad ¹ . 8. hurt, pain, affliction, misery. 9. calamity. 10. depravity. 11. illness, affliction. 13. badly.

Antonyms:
1. well, healthy. 4. good.

I'll

[ahyl]

contraction of I will.

Usage note:
See contraction.

Ill.

Illinois.

ill.

1.	illustrated.

2.	illustration.

3.	illustrator.

4.	most illustrious.

Origin:
(def. 4) < L illustrissimus

Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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Link To ill

ill (ĭl)

adj. worse (wûrs), worst (wûrst)

Not healthy; sick: I began to feel ill last week.
Not normal; unsound: an ill condition of body and mind.
Resulting in suffering; harmful or distressing: the ill effects of a misconceived policy.
1. Resulting from or suggestive of evil intentions: ill deeds committed out of spite.
2. Ascribing an objectionable quality: holds an ill view of that political group.
3. Hostile or unfriendly: ill feeling between rivals.
4. Harmful; pernicious: the ill effects of a misconceived policy.
Not favorable; unpropitious: ill predictions.
Not measuring up to recognized standards of excellence, as of behavior or conduct.

adv. worse, worst

In a sickly or unsound manner; not well.
Scarcely or with difficulty.

Evil; sin.
Disaster, distress, or harm.
Something that causes suffering; trouble: the social ills of urban life.
Something that reflects in an unfavorable way on one: Please don't speak ill of me when I'm gone.

[Middle English, from Old Norse īllr, bad.]

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ill

Ill\, a. [The regular comparative and superlative are wanting, their places being supplied by worseand worst, from another root.] [OE. ill, ille, Icel. illr; akin to Sw. illa, adv., Dan. ilde, adv.]

1. Contrary to good, in a physical sense; contrary or opposed to advantage, happiness, etc.; bad; evil; unfortunate; disagreeable; unfavorable.

Neither is it ill air only that maketh an ill seat, but ill ways, ill markets, and ill neighbors. --Bacon.

There 's some ill planet reigns. --Shak.

2. Contrary to good, in a moral sense; evil; wicked; wrong; iniquitious; naughtly; bad; improper.

Of his own body he was ill, and gave The clergy ill example. --Shak.

3. Sick; indisposed; unwell; diseased; disordered; as, ill of a fever.

I am in health, I breathe, and see thee ill. --Shak.

4. Not according with rule, fitness, or propriety; incorrect; rude; unpolished; inelegant.

That 's an ill phrase. --Shak.

Ill at ease, uneasy; uncomfortable; anxious. "I am very ill at ease." --Shak.

Ill blood, enmity; resentment.

Ill breeding, want of good breeding; rudeness.

Ill fame, ill or bad repute; as, a house of ill fame, a house where lewd persons meet for illicit intercourse.

Ill humor, a disagreeable mood; bad temper.

Ill nature, bad disposition or temperament; sullenness; esp., a disposition to cause unhappiness to others.

Ill temper, anger; moroseness; crossness.

Ill turn. (a) An unkind act. (b) A slight attack of illness. [Colloq. U.S.]

Ill will, unkindness; enmity; malevolence.

Syn: Bad; evil; wrong; wicked; sick; unwell.

Ill

Ill\, n. 1. Whatever annoys or impairs happiness, or prevents success; evil of any kind; misfortune; calamity; disease; pain; as, the ills of humanity.

Who can all sense of others' ills escape Is but a brute at best in human shape. --Tate.

That makes us rather bear those ills we have Than fly to others that we know not of. --Shak.

2. Whatever is contrary to good, in a moral sense; wickedness; depravity; iniquity; wrong; evil.

Strong virtue, like strong nature, struggles still, Exerts itself, and then throws off the ill. --Dryden.

Ill

Ill\, adv. In a ill manner; badly; weakly.

How ill this taper burns! --Shak.

Ill fares the land, to hastening ills a prey, Where wealth accumulates and men decay. --Goldsmith.

Note: Ill, like above, well, and so, is used before many participal adjectives, in its usual adverbal sense. When the two words are used as an epithet preceding the noun qualified they are commonly hyphened; in other cases they are written separatively; as, an ill-educated man; he was ill educated; an ill-formed plan; the plan, however ill formed, was acceptable. Ao, also, the following: ill-affected or ill affected, ill-arranged or ill arranged, ill-assorted or ill assorted, ill-boding or ill boding, ill-bred or ill bred, ill-conditioned, ill-conducted, ill-considered, ill-devised, ill-disposed, ill-doing, ill-fairing, ill-fated, ill-favored, ill-featured, ill-formed, ill-gotten, ill-imagined, ill-judged, ill-looking, ill-mannered, ill-matched, ill-meaning, ill-minded, ill-natured, ill-omened, ill-proportioned, ill-provided, ill-required, ill-sorted, ill-starred, ill-tempered, ill-timed, ill-trained, ill-used, and the like.

Language Translation for : ill

Spanish: enfermo, delicado,

German: krank,

Japanese: 病気の

More Translations »

ill

c.1200, "morally evil" (other 13c. senses were "malevolent, hurtful, unfortunate, difficult"), from O.N. illr "ill, bad," of unknown origin. Not related to evil. Main modern sense of "sick, unhealthy, unwell" is first recorded c.1460, probably related to O.N. idiom "it is bad to me." Illness "disease, sickness" is from 1689. Slang sense of "very good, cool" is 1980s.

Main Entry: ¹ill
Pronunciation: 'il
Function: adjective
Inflected Form: worse /'w&rs/ also ill·er /'il-&r/; worst /'w&rst/
1 : affected with some ailment : not in good health ill with cancer —Time>ill> ill>
2 : affected with nausea often to the point of vomiting ill after the ride on the rollercoaster>

Main Entry: ²ill
Function: noun
: AILMENT, SICKNESS ills of childhood>

ill (ĭl)
adj. worse (wûrs), worst (wûrst)

Not healthy; sick.
Not normal, as a condition; unsound.

n.
A disease or illness, especially of animals.

ill

In addition to the idioms beginning with ill, also see under get sick.

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