What does Ill mean?
Definitions for Ill
ɪlill
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word Ill.
Princeton's WordNet
ailment, complaint, illadjective
an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining
ill, sickadjective
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function
"ill from the monotony of his suffering"
illadjective
resulting in suffering or adversity
"ill effects"; "it's an ill wind that blows no good"
illadjective
distressing
"ill manners"; "of ill repute"
illadjective
indicating hostility or enmity
"you certainly did me an ill turn"; "ill feelings"; "ill will"
ill, inauspicious, ominousadverb
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"
ill, badly, poorlyadverb
(`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"
ill, badlyadverb
unfavorably or with disapproval
"tried not to speak ill of the dead"; "thought badly of him for his lack of concern"
illadverb
with difficulty or inconvenience; scarcely or hardly
"we can ill afford to buy a new car just now"
Wiktionary
Illcontraction
I will
Illcontraction
I shall
illnoun
Trouble; distress; misfortune; adversity.
Music won't solve all the world's ills, but it can make them easier to bear.
illnoun
Harm or injury.
I wouldn't want you to do me ill.
illnoun
Evil; moral wrongfulness.
Sociopaths do not seem to grasp the difference between good and ill.
illnoun
A physical ailment; an illness.
I am incapacitated by rheumatism and other ills.
illnoun
Unfavorable remarks or opinions.
Do not speak ill of the dead.
illnoun
PCP, phencyclidine
illadverb
Not well; imperfectly, badly; hardly.
illadjective
Evil; wicked (of people).
illadjective
Morally reprehensible (of behaviour etc.); blameworthy.
illadjective
Indicative of unkind or malevolent intentions; harsh, cruel.
He suffered from ill treatment.
illadjective
Unwell in terms of health or physical condition; sick.
I've been ill with the flu for the past few days.
illadjective
Having an urge to vomit.
Seeing those pictures made me ill.
illadjective
Sublime, with the connotation of being so in a singularly creative way. [This sense sometimes declines in AAVE as ill, comparative iller, superlative illest.]
Biggie Smalls is the illest / Your style is played out, like Arnold wonderin "Whatchu talkin bout, Willis?" Biggie Smalls, The What, 1994.
illadjective
Extremely bad (bad enough to make one ill). Generally used indirectly with to be.
That band was ill.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Illadjective
Etymology: contracted from Evil, and retaining all its senses.
There's some ill planet reigns;
I must be patient, 'till the heavens look
With an aspect more favourable. William Shakespeare, Winter's Tale.Of his own body he was ill, and gave
The clergy ill example. William Shakespeare, Henry VIII.Neither is it ill air only that maketh an ill seat; but ill ways, ill markets, and ill neighbours. Francis Bacon, Essays.
Some, of an ill and melancholy nature, incline the company to be sad and ill-disposed: others, of a jovial nature, dispose them to be merry. Francis Bacon.
You wish me health in very happy season;
For I am on the sudden something ill. William Shakespeare, Henry IV.I have known two towns of the greatest consequence lost, by the governours falling ill in the time of the sieges. William Temple.
Illadverb
Ill at ease, both she and all her train
The scorching sun had borne, and beating rain. Dryden.Thou desir'st
The punishment all on thyself! alas!
Bear thine own first; ill able to sustain
His full wrath, whose thou feel'st as yet least part,
And my displeasure bear'st so ill. John Milton, Paradise Lost.Ill bears the sex a youthful lover's fate,
When just approaching to the nuptial state. Dryden.Illadverb.
There sounded an ill according cry of the enemies, and a lamentable noise was carried abroad. Wisd. xviii. 10.
My colleague,
Being so ill affected with the gout,
Will not be able to be there in person. Ben Jonson, Catil.The danger of the day's but newly gone,
And the examples
Of every minute's instance, present now,
Have put us in these ill beseeming arms. William Shakespeare, H. IV.Lead back thy Saxons to their ancient Elbe:
I would restore the fruitful Kent, the gift
Of Vortigern, or Hengist's ill bought aid. John Dryden, K. Arthur.We simple toasters take delight
To see our women's teeth look white;
And ev'ry saucy ill bred fellow
Sneers at a mouth profoundly yellow. Matthew Prior.The ungrateful treason of her ill chosen husband overthrows her. Philip Sidney, b. ii.
Envy, how carefully does it look? How meagre and ill complexioned? It preys upon itself, and exhausts the spirits. Jeremy Collier, on Envy.
There grows,
In my most ill compos'd affection, such
A stanchless avarice, that, were I king,
I should cut off the nobles for their lands. William Shakespeare, Macb.To what end this ill concerted lye,
Palpable and gross? John Dryden, Don Sebastian.Our generals at present are such as are likely to make the best use of their numbers, without throwing them away on any ill concerted projects. Joseph Addison, on the War.
The second daughter was a peevish, froward, ill conditioned creature as ever was. John Arbuthnot, History of John Bull.
No Persian arras hides his homely walls
With antick vests, which, through their shady fold,
Betray the streaks of ill dissembled gold. John Dryden, Virg. Geor.You shall not find me, daughter,
After the slander of most step-mothers,
Ill ey'd unto you. William Shakespeare, Cymbeline.I see thy sister's tears,
Thy father's anguish, and thy brother's death,
In the pursuit of our ill fated loves. Joseph Addison, Cato.Others ill fated are condemn'd to toil
Their tedious life. Matthew Prior.Plain and rough nature, left to itself, is much better than an artificial ungratefulness, and such studied ways of being ill fashioned. John Locke.
Much better, when I find virtue in a fair lodging, than when I am bound to seek it in an ill favoured creature, like a pearl in a dunghill. Philip Sidney.
Near to an old ill favoured castle they meant to perform their unknightly errand. Philip Sidney, b. ii.
O, what a world of vile ill favour'd faults
Look handsome in three hundred pounds a year! William Shakespeare.If a man had but an ill favoured nose, the deep thinkers would contrive to impute the cause to the prejudice of his education. Jonathan Swift.
I was at her house the hour she appointed.
———— And you sped, sir?
———— Very ill favouredly. William Shakespeare, Merry Wives of Winds.He shook him ill favouredly for the time, raging through the very bowels of his country, and plundering all wheresoever he came. James Howell, Vocal Forrest.
They would not make bold, as every where they do, to destroy ill formed and mis-shaped productions. John Locke.
The fabled dragon never guarded more
The golden fleece, than he his ill got store. John Dryden, Juven.Bid him employ his care for these my friends,
And make good use of his ill gotten power,
By shelt'ring men much better than himself. Joseph Addison, Cato.Ill govern'd passions in a prince's breast,
Hazard his private and the publick rest. Edmund Waller.That knowledge of theirs is very superficial and ill grounded. John Dryden, Dufresnoy.
Ill grounded passions quickly wear away;
What's built upon esteem can ne'er decay. William Walsh.Hither, of ill join'd sons and daughters born,
First from the ancient world these giants came. John Milton.Nor has he erred above once by an ill judged superfluity. Samuel Garth, Ovid.
Did you never taste delicious drink out of an ill looked vessel? Roger L'Estrange.
The match had been so ill made for Plexirtus, that his ill led life would have tumbled to destruction, had there not come fifty to his defence. Philip Sidney, b. ii.
The works are weak, the garrison but thin,
Dispirited with frequent overthrows,
Already wavering on their ill mann'd walls. Dryden.He will not hear me out!
Was ever criminal forbid to plead?
Curb their ill manner'd zeal. Dryden.These are the product
Of those ill mated marriages thou saw'st,
Where good with bad were match'd. John Milton, Parad. Lost.It is impossible for the most ill minded, avaritious, or cunning clergyman to do the least injustice to the meanest cottager, in any bargain for tythes. Jonathan Swift.
Soon as th' ill omen'd rumour reach'd his ear,
Who can describe th' amazement in his face! Dryden.The eternal law of things must not be altered, to comply with his ill ordered choice. John Locke.
When you expose the scene,
Down the ill organ'd engines fall,
Off fly the vizards. Jonathan Swift.For Phthia fix'd is my return;
Better at home my ill paid pains to mourn,
Than from an equal here sustain the publick scorn. Dryden.There mostly images her fancy strike,
Figures ill pair'd, and similies unlike. Alexander Pope, Dunciad.Sparta has not to boast of such a woman;
Nor Troy to thank her, for her ill plac'd love. Dryden.I shall direct you better, a task for which I take myself not to be ill qualified, because I have had more opportunities than many others to observe what sources the follies of women are derived from. Jonathan Swift.
Actions are pleasing or displeasing, either in themselves, or considered as a means to a greater and more desirable end: the eating of a well seasoned dish, suited to a man's palate, may move the mind, by the delight itself that accompanies the eating, without reference to any other end; to which the consideration of the pleasure there is in health and strength may add a new gust, able to make us swallow an ill relished potion. John Locke.
Blushes, ill restrain'd, betray
Her thoughts inventive on the bridal day;
The conscious fire the dawning blush survey'd,
And smiling thus bespoke the blooming maid. Alexander Pope, Odyss.Behold the fruit of ill rewarded pain:
As many months as I sustain'd her hate,
So many years is she condemn'd by fate. Dryden.The god inform'd
This ill shap'd body with a daring soul. John Dryden, Oedipus.There was plenty enough, but the dishes were ill sorted: whole pyramids of sweetmeats for boys and women; but little of solid meat for men. Dryden.
It does not belong to the priest's office to impose this name in baptism: he may refuse to pronounce the same, if the parents give them ludicrous, filthy, or ill sounding names. John Ayliffe.
Ill spirited Wor'ster, did we not send grace,
Pardon and terms of love to all of you? William Shakespeare, H. IV.From thy foolish heart, vain maid, remove
An useless sorrow, and an ill starr'd love. Matthew Prior.Ah, why th' ill suiting pastime must I try?
To gloomy care my thoughts alone are free:
Ill the gay sports with troubled hearts agree. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.Holding of ill tasted things in the mouth will make a small salivation. Nehemiah Grew, Cosmol. b. ii.
The maid, with downcast eyes, and mute with grief,
For death unfinish'd, and ill tim'd relief,
Stood sullen to her suit. John Dryden, Ovid.How should opinions, thus settled, be given up, if there be any suspicion of interest or design, as there never fails to be, where men find themselves ill treated? John Locke.
That boldness and spirit which lads get amongst their play-fellows at school, has ordinarily a mixture of rudeness and ill turned confidence; so that these misbecoming and disingenuous ways of shifting in the world must be unlearned. John Locke.
Illnoun
Ill, to man's nature, as it stands perverted, hath a natural motion strongest in continuance. Francis Bacon.
Young men to imitate all ills are prone;
But are compell'd to avarice alone:
For then in virtue's shape they follow vice. John Dryden, Juv.Strong virtue, like strong nature, struggles still,
Exerts itself, and then throws off the ill. John Dryden, Aureng.Who can all sense of others ills escape,
Is but a brute at best in human shape. Nahum Tate, Juvenal.Though plung'd in ills and exercis'd in care,
Yet never let the noble mind despair;
When prest by dangers, and beset with foes,
The gods their timely succour interpose;
And when our virtue sinks, o'erwhelm'd with grief,
By unforeseen expedients bring relief. Ambrose Philips.Illsubstantive.
Dangerous conjectures in ill breeding minds. William Shakespeare, Hamlet.
I have an ill divining soul:
Methinks I see thee, now thou art below,
As one dead in the bottom of a tomb. William Shakespeare.No look, no last adieu before he went!
In an ill boding hour to slaughter sent. John Dryden, Æn.I know
The voice ill boding, and the solemn sound. Phillips.He may strew
The wisest prince on earth may be deceived by the craft of ill designing men. Jonathan Swift, Examiner.Your ill meaning politician lords,
Under pretence of bridal friends and guests,
Appointed to await me thirty spies,
Who, threat'ning cruel death, constrain'd the bride
To wring from me and tell to them my secret. John Milton, Agon.A spy distinguish'd from his airy stand,
To bribe whose vigilance, Ægisthus told
A mighty sum of ill persuading gold. Alexander Pope, Odyssey.Illsubstantive or adverb,
is used in composition to express any bad quality or condition, which may be easily understood by the following examples.
ChatGPT
ill
"Ill" is an adjective primarily defined as not in good health; sick or unhealthy. It can also mean unfavorable, adverse, unsatisfactory, or harmful in other contexts when referring to circumstances or conditions. Moreover, it is used to describe someone as having malicious or evil intentions.
Webster Dictionary
Illadjective
contrary to good, in a physical sense; contrary or opposed to advantage, happiness, etc.; bad; evil; unfortunate; disagreeable; unfavorable
Illadjective
contrary to good, in a moral sense; evil; wicked; wrong; iniquitious; naughtly; bad; improper
Illadjective
sick; indisposed; unwell; diseased; disordered; as, ill of a fever
Illadjective
not according with rule, fitness, or propriety; incorrect; rude; unpolished; inelegant
Illnoun
whatever annoys or impairs happiness, or prevents success; evil of any kind; misfortune; calamity; disease; pain; as, the ills of humanity
Illnoun
whatever is contrary to good, in a moral sense; wickedness; depravity; iniquity; wrong; evil
Illadverb
in a ill manner; badly; weakly
Wikidata
Ill
The Ill is a river in Alsace, in north-eastern France. It is a "left-side", or western tributary of the Rhine. It starts down from its source near the village of Winkel, in the Jura mountains, with a resurgence near Ligsdorf, turns around Ferrette on its east side, and then runs northward through Alsace, flowing parallel to the Rhine. Taking apart the Largue, also coming from the Jura mountains near Illfurth, it receives several tributaries from the west bank Vosges mountains after passing through Altkirch: the Doller in Mulhouse, the Thur near Ensisheim, the Lauch in Colmar, the Fecht in Illhaeusern, the Giessen in Sélestat, the Andlau near Fegersheim, the Ehn near Geispolsheim, the Bruche next to Strasbourg and the Souffel upstream from La Wantzenau before meeting with the Rhine downstream from Gambsheim's lock. As the Ill nears the city of Mulhouse, most of its flow is diverted into a discharge channel leading to the Doller, protecting the historical center of the town from floods. Flowing through the city of Strasbourg, the river forms part of the 17th century fortifications and passes through a series of locks and channels in the picturesque old town, including the Petite-France district, where its waters were once used to power mills and tanneries.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Ill
il, adj. (comp. worse; superl. worst) evil, bad: contrary to good: wicked: producing evil: unfortunate: unfavourable: sick: diseased: improper: incorrect: cross, as temper.—adv. not well: not rightly: with difficulty—(rare) Ill′y.—n. evil: wickedness: misfortune.—Ill, when compounded with other words, expresses badness of quality or condition, as 'ill-advised,' 'ill-affected,' 'ill-disposed,' &c.—adj. Ill′-beseem′ing (Shak.), unbecoming.—n. Ill′-blood, ill-feeling: resentment.—adjs. Ill′-bod′ing, inauspicious; Ill′-bred, badly bred or educated: uncivil.—n. Ill′-breed′ing.—adjs. Ill′-condit′ioned, in bad condition: churlish; Ill′-fat′ed, bringing ill-fortune; Ill′-faurd (Scot.), Ill′-fā′voured, ill-looking: deformed: ugly.—n. Ill′-fā′vouredness, state of being ill-favoured: deformity.—adjs. Ill′-got, -ten, procured by bad means; Ill′-haired (Scot.) cross-grained; Ill′-judged, not well judged; Ill′-look′ing, having a bad look; Ill′-manned′, insufficiently provided with men; Ill′-nā′tured, of an ill nature or temper: cross: peevish.—adv. Ill′-nā′turedly.—ns. Ill′-nā′turedness, the quality of being ill-natured; Ill′ness, sickness: disease.—adjs. Ill′-off, in bad circumstances; Ill′-ō′mened, having bad omens: unfortunate; Ill′-starred, born under the influence of an unlucky star: unlucky; Ill′-tem′pered, having a bad temper: morose: fretful: (Shak.) disordered; Ill′-timed, said or done at an unsuitable time.—v.t. Ill′-treat, to treat ill: to abuse.—n. Ill′-turn, an act of unkindness or enmity.—adj. Ill′-used, badly used or treated.—ns. Ill′-will, unkind feeling: enmity; Ill′-wish′er, one who wishes harm to another.—adj. Ill′-wrest′ing, misinterpreting to disadvantage.—Go ill with, to result in danger or misfortune; Take it ill, to be offended. [From Ice. illr, a contraction of the word which appears in A.S. yfel, evil.]
Rap Dictionary
illadjective
Negative.
illadjective
Positive. Most illinest b-boys -- Beastie Boys (Rhymin' and Stealing).
illadjective
Drunk. Bored as hell and I wanna get ill -- Eazy-E (Boys in Tha Hood).
illverb
To be obnoxious, or to act weird by accident, as in eating dogfood. You be illin' -- Run-DMC (You Be Illin').
Suggested Resources
ILL
What does ILL stand for? -- Explore the various meanings for the ILL acronym on the Abbreviations.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
ILL
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ill is ranked #62714 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Ill surname appeared 319 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Ill.
90.6% or 289 total occurrences were White.
5.3% or 17 total occurrences were Black.
1.5% or 5 total occurrences were of two or more races.
British National Corpus
Spoken Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'Ill' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #2365
Written Corpus Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'Ill' in Written Corpus Frequency: #1604
Adjectives Frequency
Rank popularity for the word 'Ill' in Adjectives Frequency: #293
Anagrams for Ill »
Lil
li'l
lil
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of Ill in Chaldean Numerology is: 7
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of Ill in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6
Examples of Ill in a Sentence
The good or ill of a man lies within his own will.
These are the lazy young people who use the easy ways to pull off simple, well known exploits that mostly work against similarly lazy, ill defended targets.
For my part, seventeen years after my first PhD coursework, I still feel ill at ease with my grasp of many issues, and I am fairly confident that this is not just a question of limited intellect.
Being honest, hes just explosive, ill be on the field (watching him) and Im like, Bro, you are unbelievable with the ball. Then Im like, He might get hit right there, and then hell just do something crazy. Thats why hes out there. Hes just doing amazing things.
Our repentance is not so much regret for the ill we have done as fear of the ill that may happen to us in consequence.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
References
Translations for Ill
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- مريضArabic
- хворыBelarusian
- боленBulgarian
- malaltCatalan, Valencian
- nemocný, špatnýCzech
- sâlWelsh
- kvalm, syg, dårligDanish
- schlecht, übel, krankGerman
- άρρωστος, άρρωστηGreek
- malsanaEsperanto
- mareado, enfermo, malSpanish
- بیمار, مريضPersian
- mauvaise, écœurée, mal, écœuré, mauvais, maladeFrench
- tinnIrish
- tinnScottish Gaelic
- חוֹלֶהHebrew
- बीमारHindi
- հիվանդ, վատArmenian
- mual, jijik, sakitIndonesian
- maladaIdo
- malatoItalian
- 病気Japanese
- laraJavanese
- სნეული, ავადმყოფიGeorgian
- 앓다, 병들다Korean
- sergantisLithuanian
- sasirdzis, slimsLatvian
- wheoriMāori
- зол, зло, болно, боленMacedonian
- misselijk, ziekDutch
- kvalm, dårlig, sykNorwegian
- problem, chory, zły, krzywda, źlePolish
- doentePortuguese
- rău, bolnavRomanian
- хворый, больнойRussian
- болестан, bolestanSerbo-Croatian
- chorýSlovak
- bolanSlovene
- illamående, illa, sjukSwedish
- ป่วยThai
- kötü, hastaTurkish
- хворийUkrainian
- بیمارUrdu
- bệnhVietnamese
- maläd, malädikVolapük
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