From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishldoce_723_zillill1 /ɪl/ ●●● S3 W2 adjective 1 especially British EnglishILL suffering from a disease or not feeling well SYN sick American English Bridget can’t come – she’s ill. I was feeling ill that day and decided to stay at home.ill with Her husband has been ill with bladder trouble. a hospice for the terminally ill2 [only before noun]HARM/BE BAD FOR bad or harmful Many people consumed the poisoned oil without ill effects. the neglect and ill treatment of children He was unable to join the army because of ill health.3 → ill at ease4 → it’s an ill wind (that blows nobody any good) → ill feeling, ill willCOLLOCATIONSverbsbe illWhat’s wrong? Are you ill?feel illI’ve been feeling ill since I woke up this morning.look illHe looked rather ill when I saw him.become ill (also get ill informal)She became ill after eating oysters.fall ill formal (=become ill)Louise fell ill while she was on holiday.be taken ill (=become ill suddenly)Henry was suddenly taken ill and had to go to the hospital.make somebody illI think it was the heat that made me ill.adverbsseriously ill (=very ill)Any seriously ill patients are usually sent to a state hospital.gravely ill formal (=extremely ill)She went to visit her grandfather, who was gravely ill.critically ill (=so ill that you might die)He got news that his mother was critically ill in hospital.terminally ill (=having a very serious illness that you will die from)He is terminally ill with cancer.chronically ill (=having a long-term illness that cannot be cured and will not get better)Chronically ill patients often find it difficult to get travel insurance.mentally ill (=having an illness of your mind)Caring for mentally ill people can be challenging. THESAURUSill [not before noun] especially British English suffering from a disease or not feeling wellHer mother is seriously ill in hospital.I woke up feeling really ill.sick especially American English illShe’s been sick with the flu.a sick childDan got sick on vacation.not very well [not before noun] ill, but not seriously illSarah’s not very well – she has a throat infection.unwell [not before noun] formal illThe singer had been unwell for some time.Symptoms include fever, aching muscles, and feeling generally unwell.poorly [not before noun] British English spoken illYour grandmother’s been very poorly lately.in a bad way [not before noun] very ill because of a serious injury or diseaseYou’d better call an ambulance – she looks like she’s in a bad way.be off sick British English, be out sick American English to be not at work because of an illnessTwo teachers were off sick yesterday.slightly illunder the weather (also off colour British English) [not before noun] informal slightly illSorry I haven’t called you – I’ve been a bit under the weather lately.You look a bit off colour – are you sure you’re OK?run down [not before noun] feeling slightly ill and tired all the time, for example because you have been working too hard, or not eating wellSome people take extra vitamins if they are feeling run down.often illin poor health unhealthy and often illChopin was already in poor health when he arrived on the island. delicate weak and likely to become ill easilyShe was delicate and pale and frequently complained of headaches. He had a delicate constitution and throughout his adult life suffered from various illnesses. sickly a sickly child is often illHe was a sickly child and spent a lot of time at home on his own.His younger daughter was sickly and died when she was young.
Examples from the Corpus
ill• The baby caught a virus and became critically ill.• Her makeup so unbelievably dramatic, so abnormal, she looked mentally ill.• Apparently Don's wife is seriously ill, and they think it might be cancer.• All that week, Catherine lay ill, drifting in and out of consciousness.• One civil servant has retired on ill health grounds and two downgraded.• Mentally ill patients have the same rights as anyone else.• psychological support for terminally ill patients• I felt helpless and despairing and suddenly so ill that I had to clutch at the door to stop myself falling.• Mel was so ill that she had to stay in bed for a month.ill effects• On the other hand, there are ill effects:.• The birds that ate the new weights showed no ill effects.• These plants, part or all of which may cause ill effects, can all be found in this country.• Moceanu, showing no ill effects from the injury that threatened to keep her out of the Olympics, was efficient throughout.• The patient seems to be suffering no ill effects from the treatments.• For the ill effects of bruises and other mechanical trauma, after Arnica.• Academics whose research found ill effects of divorce on kids faced chilly receptions.• The nuclear industry, for its part, does not seem to enjoy publicising the ill effects of radiation in any form.• Brownell did pioneering research on the ill effects of yo-yo dieting.illill2 adverb 1 → somebody can ill afford (to do) something2 → think/speak ill of somebody3 → bode illExamples from the Corpus
ill• The Crolgarian police are ill equipped for an investigation of this kind.• If so, it seems ill mannered at best.• We were ill-prepared to camp out in the snow.• The animals had been ill-treated by their owner.illill3 noun 1 → ills2 [uncountable] formalHARM/BE BAD FOR harm, evil, or bad luck She did not like Matthew but she would never wish him ill.Examples from the Corpus
ill• Tuesday's game had to be cancelled because of illness.• Even though I don't agree with him, I do not wish Baxter any ill.• That was the rich man's panacea for the litany of ills of the poor.• The Deputy Governor of Bullwood provided a comprehensive analysis of the system's ills before the Sub-Committee.• In the book, Godwin eloquently describes in words and photographs the ills our land is prey to.ill-ill- /ɪl/ prefix badly or not enough ill-concealed boredom ill-formed sentencesOrigin ill1 (1100-1200) Old Norse illr 