ill at ease

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.
00:10
Ill at ease is always a great word to know.
So is doohickey. Does it mean:
a gadget; dingus; thingumbob.
a scrap or morsel of food left at a meal.
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.
19.
ill at ease, socially uncomfortable; nervous: They were ill at ease because they didn't speak the language.

Origin:
1150–1200; Middle English ill(e) (noun and adj.) < Old Norse illr (adj.) ill, bad

ill, sick (see synonym study at the current entry).


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 bad1. 8. hurt, pain, affliction, misery. 9. calamity. 10. depravity. 11. illness, affliction. 13. badly.


1. well, healthy. 4. good.


See well1.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
Cite This Source Link To ill at ease
Collins
World English Dictionary
ill (ɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
adj , worse, worst
1.  (usually postpositive) not in good health; sick
2.  characterized by or intending evil, harm, etc; hostile: ill deeds
3.  causing or resulting in pain, harm, adversity, etc: ill effects
4.  ascribing or imputing evil to something referred to: ill repute
5.  promising an unfavourable outcome; unpropitious: an ill omen
6.  harsh; lacking kindness: ill will
7.  not up to an acceptable standard; faulty: ill manners
8.  ill at ease unable to relax; uncomfortable
 
n
9.  evil or harm: to wish a person ill
10.  a mild disease
11.  misfortune; trouble
 
adv
12.  badly: the title ill befits him
13.  with difficulty; hardly: he can ill afford the money
14.  not rightly: she ill deserves such good fortune
 
[C11 (in the sense: evil): from Old Norse illr bad]

I'll (aɪl) [Click for IPA pronunciation guide]
 
contraction of
I will or I shall

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History

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.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Medical Dictionary

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

  1. Not healthy; sick.

  2. Not normal, as a condition; unsound.

n.
A disease or illness, especially of animals.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Cite This Source
Slang Dictionary

ill definition


  1. mod.
    lame; dull; bad. : That broad is truly ill and has a face that would stop a clock.
  2. mod.
    and illing; illin'. excellent; cool. : We had an ill time at your party. Loved it!
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
Cite This Source
American Heritage
Idioms & Phrases

ill at ease

Uncomfortable, uneasy, as in Large parties made him feel ill at ease. [c. 1300] For an antonym, see at ease.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
  • Please Login or Sign Up to use the Recent Searches feature
FAVORITES
RECENT