ill

1 /Il/ adjective

1 (not usually before noun) especially BrE suffering from a disease or not feeling well; sick: Bridget can't come - she's ill. | feel ill: I was feeling ill that day, and decided to stay at home. | be taken ill/fall ill (=become ill): She was suddenly taken ill at school. | seriously ill (=very ill): seriously ill in hospital | mentally ill (=with a disease of the mind) | terminally ill (=with an illness that you will die from): a hospice for the terminally ill | ill health: He had to resign due to ill health.

—see also: illness, —see sick 1

2 (not before noun) BrE suffering from the effects of an injury: The two policemen are still seriously ill with gunshot wounds.

3 (only before noun) bad or harmful: She seemed to have suffered no ill effects from her ordeal. | accusations of ill treatment by the police

4 ill at ease nervous, uncomfortable, or embarrassed: He always felt shy and ill at ease at parties.

5 it's an ill wind (that blows nobody any good) spoken used to say that every problem brings an advantage for someone

—see also: ill feeling, ill will 2 adverb

1 be ill treated/ill used etc to be treated badly, unpleasantly, or cruelly: Most of our clients have been ill-treated as children.

2 not well or not enough; badly: She was ill prepared for the ordeal ahead. | “I see one third of a nation ill-housed, ill-clad, ill-nourished.” (F.D. Roosevelt)

3 can ill afford (to do) sth to be unable to do something without making the situation you are in very difficult: I was wasting time I could ill afford to lose.

4 think/speak ill of formal to think or say unpleasant things about someone: She really believes you should never speak ill of the dead.

3 noun

1 (plural) problems and difficulties: Free-market economics was seen as the cure for all our ills.

2 (U) formal harm, evil, or bad luck: She did not like Matthew but she would never wish him ill.