ill
/il/
Học thuậtThân thiện
Definition
Adjective:
- Sick, unwell: Affected by a disease or poor health; not feeling physically or mentally well.
- Bad, harmful, unfavorable: Of poor quality, having negative effects, or indicating misfortune.
- Hostile, unkind: Showing unfriendliness or malice.
Adverb:
- Badly, poorly: In an unsatisfactory, unfavorable, or improper manner.
- Scarcely, with difficulty: Only with great difficulty or inconvenience; hardly.
Noun:
- A problem, trouble, or evil: A misfortune or harmful thing.
- (Often plural: ills): Widespread problems or evils in society.
- (Archaic): A sickness or disease.
Usage and Examples
Adjective (Sick):
- She stayed home because she was ill with the flu.
- He has been seriously ill for several weeks.
Adjective (Bad/Harmful):
- The scandal did ill damage to his reputation.
- They parted on ill terms after the argument.
Adverb (Badly/Poorly):
- The team played ill and lost the match.
- This reflects ill on the company's management.
Adverb (Scarcely):
- We can ill afford another financial setback right now.
- He could ill conceal his disappointment.
Noun:
- Poverty and crime are among the social ills we must address.
- He spoke about the ills of modern society.
Advanced Usage and Nuances
"ill at ease": Uncomfortable, anxious, or embarrassed.
- She felt ill at ease at the formal party.
"it's an ill wind (that blows nobody any good)": (Proverb) Even a bad situation usually benefits someone.
- My competitor's factory closed, but it's an ill wind—now I have more customers.
"speak ill of": To say bad or critical things about someone.
- You should not speak ill of the dead.
"ill will": Unfriendly or hostile feelings; malice.
- He bore them no ill will despite their past disagreements.
Variants and Related Words
Illness (n): The state of being ill; a disease or period of sickness.
- He missed work due to illness.
Ill- (prefix): Used to form adjectives and adverbs meaning "badly," "poorly," or "in an unfavorable way."
- Ill-advised: Not wise; foolish.
- Ill-fated: Destined to fail or have bad luck.
- Ill-mannered: Having bad manners; rude.
- Ill-timed: Done or occurring at an inappropriate time.
Synonyms
- Adjective (Sick): Unwell, sick, ailing, poorly.
- Adjective (Bad): Bad, harmful, adverse, unfavorable, evil.
- Adverb: Badly, poorly, unfavorably.
- Noun: Evil, harm, trouble, misfortune.
Antonyms
- Adjective (Sick): Well, healthy, fit.
- Adjective (Bad): Good, beneficial, favorable.
- Adverb: Well, favorably, successfully.
Notes on Usage
- As an adjective, ill is typically used after a verb like , , , or (e.g., ). It is less common before a noun except in certain fixed phrases (e.g., , ).
- The comparative and superlative forms are worse and worst, not "iller" or "illest."
- The adverb form illy is non-standard and rarely used; ill itself functions as the adverb.
Adjective
- presaging ill fortune
- ill omens
- ill predictions
- my words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven- P.B.Shelley
- a dead and ominous silence prevailed
- a by-election at a time highly unpropitious for the Government
- indicating hostility or enmity
- you certainly did me an ill turn
- ill feelings
- ill will
- distressing
- ill manners
- of ill repute
- resulting in suffering or adversity
- ill effects
- it's an ill wind that blows no good
- affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
- ill from the monotony of his suffering
Adverb
- with difficulty or inconvenience; scarcely or hardly
- we can ill afford to buy a new car just now
- unfavorably or with disapproval
- tried not to speak ill of the dead
- thought badly of him for his lack of concern
- (`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well
- he was ill prepared
- it ill befits a man to betray old friends
- the car runs badly
- he performed badly on the exam
- the team played poorly
- ill-fitting clothes
- an ill-conceived plan
Noun
- an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining