ill

ill1 [ ıl ] adjective **

1. ) not healthy, because of a medical condition or an injury:

He's been ill for a couple of weeks.

She was too ill to travel.

mentally ill patients

terminally ill (=going to die because of an illness)

seriously/critically ill: Her husband is seriously ill in the hospital.

fall ill /be taken ill (=become ill): She was unlucky enough to fall ill on vacation.

ill with: Sarah was seriously ill with a fever.

─ compare SICK

2. ) only before noun FORMAL bad or harmful:

Their defeat was mainly due to their ill-discipline.

The fish didn't taste fresh, but we suffered no ill effects.

ill temper/humor: Bouts of ill temper punctuated the match.

ill

ill 2 [ ıl ] adverb FORMAL *

badly:

I'm afraid you have been ill informed.

can ill afford something/to do something

used for saying that someone should definitely not do something because it will cause problems:

We could ill afford another argument with the publisher.

The soldiers can ill afford to wait another 24 hours before receiving orders.

=> BODE, SPEAK

ill

ill 3 [ ıl ] noun FORMAL

1. ) count usually plural a problem or difficulty:

Electing a president of a different party is regarded as the cure for all the nation's ills.

2. ) uncount OLD-FASHIONED harm:

I knew of no one who would wish him ill.

for good or ill

whether the effect will be good or bad:

He felt he wanted to remain on the team, for good or ill.