1
2
as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
one of the ill effects of winter weather is the rapid spread of germs as people spend more time together indoors
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in poorly
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
since I'm ill, I guess that I'll just have to miss that dental appointment
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4
as in poor
falling short of a standard
such ill behavior will not be tolerated
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5
as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
the abrupt breakdown of negotiations appears to be an ill omen for this ongoing hostage situation
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1
as in severely
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
in those days society treated debtors very ill, even going so far as to put them in prison
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2
as in no
certainly not
you can ill afford to miss another day of work
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1
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
chicken pox and the other ills that were once a fixture of childhood
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2
as in evil
that which is morally unacceptable
idealistic people who try to cure all of our society's ills
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3
as in misfortune
bad luck or an example of this
the travelers merrily set off on their journey, scarcely imagining the ills that would befall them
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Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of ill
Mimi Whitefield, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2025
Thirty-five of the roughly 800 people on board had become ill with norovirus.
—Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2025
Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Your article on the matter is filled with bias and your effort to somehow classify Dodgers fans as Trump haters is ill-served and demeaning.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2025
John Bacon, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2025
Short on resources and caregivers, communities struggled to create makeshift hospitals and find healthy residents to nurse the ill.
—Katherine A. Foss, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ill
Adjective
The proposed Miami-Dade ordinance came in the wake of the death of 29-year-old farmworker Efraín López García who became ill while picking fruit on a Homestead farm on a day of record-breaking heat and died in July 2023.
—Mimi Whitefield, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2025
Thirty-five of the roughly 800 people on board had become ill with norovirus.
—Cindy Krischer Goodman, Sun Sentinel, 12 Apr. 2025
Adverb
However, the pattern shifted drastically when the wife was the one who fell ill.
—Mark Travers, Forbes.com, 6 Apr. 2025
Your article on the matter is filled with bias and your effort to somehow classify Dodgers fans as Trump haters is ill-served and demeaning.
—Los Angeles Times, 5 Apr. 2025
Noun
The pope also thanked staff at the hospital who aided his recovery from double-pneumonia and other ills, the Vatican said.
—John Bacon, USA TODAY, 23 Mar. 2025
Short on resources and caregivers, communities struggled to create makeshift hospitals and find healthy residents to nurse the ill.
—Katherine A. Foss, The Conversation, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ill
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ill
Adjective
-
It seems squarely aimed at making kids sick by discouraging vaccination.—
Dan Vergano,
Scientific American,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Steward said his daughter, while surfing nearby, became sick with an infection from a type of bacteria called MRSA, which is resistant to many antibiotics.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
For every person who happily sets 4:00 a.m. alarms on race morning, there’s another convinced the sport is too hard, too boring, or a waste of time, if not outright harmful.—
Cindy Kuzma,
SELF,
25 Apr. 2025
-
Confusing a congressional edict to end segregation with DEI policies that have no genesis in the Black Civil Rights movement to end Jim Crow is historically ignorant, disrespectful, and harmful to the urgent need to focus on resolving continuing racial inequalities in public education.—
Raymond Pierce,
Forbes.com,
25 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The researchers and their partners are also working to track local residents’ health and to measure how well or poorly interventions like masks and household air filters protected them.—
Maggie Astor,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
Both the United States and the United Nations have stepped back from leadership roles, a reflection of how poorly interventions in Haiti have gone and also the wide range of issues in other parts of the world at the moment.—
Adam Taylor,
Washington Post,
7 Mar. 2024
Adjective
-
Then someone pointed a finger at a surprising culprit: the soldiers’ poor health.—
Maxim Sytch,
Harvard Business Review,
18 Apr. 2025
-
Some parents worry that Alexa's high tolerance for rudeness instills poor behavior in their kids, according to Quartz.—
Emily Forlini,
PC Magazine,
18 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
The fall in the dollar and rise in bond yields that went with it have been truly ominous.—
Robert Daugherty,
Forbes.com,
12 Apr. 2025
-
As for what will befall patients at Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center, Gemmill gave CNN a pretty ominous hint.—
Emily Tannenbaum,
Glamour,
11 Apr. 2025
Adverb
-
At the funeral, however, the crowd appeared overwhelmingly in favor of Francis’ openness to the world, no matter the specific questions of church doctrine.—
Aryn Baker,
Time,
26 Apr. 2025
-
She’s been wildly influential without ever being less than unmistakable; no matter what sonic, thematic or characteristic elements other artists may borrow from her, none of them would ever risk being taken for Lana herself.—
Andrew Unterberger,
Billboard,
26 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
This marks a major shift from older Alzheimer's treatments, which could only manage symptoms without slowing down the disease much.—
Allen Chang,
ABC News,
29 Apr. 2025
-
Pakistan is writing a new story of hope in which every child can survive and thrive and communities are protected from this preventable disease.—
Forbes.com,
Forbes.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Lucas loved the idealistic adventure reels of the ’30s and ’40s where good and evil were divided by a fresh coat of paint.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2025
-
Like him, Hur Jin-ho is concerned with the fragility of moral standing and how mercurial these not-so-concrete notions of right and wrong can be when evil sleeps just down the hall.—
David Opie,
IndieWire,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill. Accessed 2 May. 2025.
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