ill

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“
Roger wrote her kind and filial letters in French--ill-spelt it is true, but admirably worded, and testifying an amount of good sense which promised well for his manhood.

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Definitions (49)

Toggle American Heritage definitions American Heritage Dictionary (16)

  1. adjective Not healthy; sick: I began to feel ill last week.
  2. adjective Not normal; unsound: an ill condition of body and mind.
  3. adjective Resulting in suffering; harmful or distressing: the ill effects of a misconceived policy.
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Toggle Century definitions Century Dictionary (21)

Toggle GNU Webster definitions GNU Webster's 1913 (3)

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Examples (50)

  • They were ordinary whales, but in a sense, they were all ill--ill because Hezemiah Law had been feeding them a chemical compound which he had spent most of his life in concocting The sick whales, thanks to Hezemiah Law's feeding, produced that marine treasure known as ambergris. —  030 - Spook Hole
  • He never uses chemicals and only uses antibiotics if an individual animal becomes ill, which is rare. —  The Globe and Mail - Home RSS feed
  • Kennedy is gravely ill, which is terrible for him and his family. —  Telegraph Blogs
  • Fans may recall his ill-fated attempt to toss a high-five to —  E! Online (US) - Top Stories
  • This case must be sent to the parole review board as it smacks of corruption. 3 doctors said he was gravely ill but NONE of them have said he is terminally ill which is the requirement by law. —  IOL: News
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Related

Roget's II Roget's II: The New Thesaurus

Allen's Allen's Synonyms and Antonyms

Used in the same context Used in the Same Context

sick ·  evil ·  poor ·  bad ·  nervous ·  angry

Used in the same contextWord Family

ill:   ills
Roget's II: The New Thesaurus, Third Edition by the Editors of the American Heritage® Dictionary. Copyright © 2003, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Etymologies (4)

Toggle American Heritage etymologies American Heritage Dictionary (1)

  1. Middle English, from Old Norse īllr, bad.

Toggle Century etymologies Century Dictionary (3)

  1. from Middle English ille, from Icelandic īllr, in modern Icelandic usually with a short vowel, illr = Danish ild- = Swedish ill- (in comp.; independently only as adverb), ill, contr. of the form which appears in full in Gothic (Moesogothic) ubils, Anglo-Saxon yfel, English evil, etc.: see evil.
  2. from Middle English ille, from Icelandic īlla = Swedish illa = Danish ilde, adverb, ill, badly; from the adjective, being ult. identical with English evil, adv.
  3. from Middle English illen, from Icelandic īlla, harm; from the adjective: see ill, adjective
 

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/ɪl/
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