Ill Word Meaning

Middle English (in the senses ‘wicked’, ‘malevolent’, ‘harmful’, and ‘difficult’): from Old Norse illr ‘evil, difficult’, of unknown origin

suffering from an illness or disease or feeling unwell

unwell

• he was taken ill with food poisoning
• a terminally ill patient
• even the seriously ill cannot get tests done immediately

poor in quality

poor in quality

• ill judgement dogs the unsuccessful

badly, wrongly, or imperfectly

badly or wrongly

• the street is dominated by ill-lit shops
• it ill becomes one so beautiful to be gloomy

only with difficulty; hardly

only with difficulty

• she could ill afford the cost of new curtains

a problem or misfortune

problem or misfortune

• a lengthy work on the ills of society