INDEX:
1. ill
2. slightly ill
3. when someone is often ill
4. someone who imagines they are ill
5. to feel ill
6. to become ill
7. someone who is ill
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ ILLNESS/DISEASE
↑ SICK/VOMIT
↑ DOCTOR
↑ CURE
↑ RECOVER
↑ PAIN
↑ WEAK
↑ MENTALLY ILL
↑ HOSPITAL
↑ DRUG
↑ MEDICAL TREATMENT
↑ SUFFER
↑ HEALTHY/UNHEALTHY
↑ SPREAD (3)
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1. ill
▷ ill /ɪl/ [adjective not before noun] especially British
suffering from bad health or not feeling well :
▪ Mel was so ill that she had to stay in bed for a month.
seriously ill
very ill
▪ Apparently Don’s wife is seriously ill, and they think it might be cancer.
critically ill
extremely ill
▪ The baby caught a virus and became critically ill.
terminally ill
so ill that you are going to die
▪ psychological support for terminally ill patients
mentally ill
suffering from a mental illness
▪ Mentally ill patients have the same rights as anyone else.
lie ill
be ill in bed
▪ All that week, Catherine lay ill, drifting in and out of consciousness.
illness [uncountable noun]
when someone is ill: :
▪ Tuesday’s game had to be cancelled because of illness.
▷ sick /sɪk/ [adjective] especially American
ill :
▪ Where’s Mary today? I hope she’s not sick again.
▪ Sheila spent months looking after her sick mother.
be off sick
not at work or school because of illness
▪ Gary phoned to say that he’s off sick today.
be off work sick/be in bed sick
▪ I’m sorry I didn’t reply to your e-mail. I was in bed sick for a couple of days.
sick with the flu/a virus etc
ill as a result of flu etc
▪ Grant Hill played despite being sick with the flu for the past ten days.
be sick with worry/fear/exhaustion etc
so worried etc that you feel sick
▪ We were dirty, hungry, cold and sick with exhaustion.
sickness [uncountable noun]
▪ On average, companies lose twelve days per employee per year as a result of sickness.
▷ be not (very) well /biː ˌnɒt (veri) ˈwel/ [adjective phrase] especially spoken
to be ill, but not seriously ill :
▪ Sarah’s not very well - she’s got a throat infection.
▪ Jed’s Mum says he’s not well, so he’s staying at home today.
▷ unwell /ʌnˈwel/ [adjective] formal
ill :
▪ Mrs Hedges is unwell today, so her class will be taken by Mr Collier.
▪ Tom had been unwell for some time but had refused to see a doctor.
▷ poorly /ˈpʊəʳli/ [adjective not before noun] British informal
ill :
▪ Dad was always out, Mum was often poorly, and I had to look after the rest of the kids.
▪ ‘I’m afraid your grandmother’s very poorly,’ the nurse on duty said.
▷ be in a bad way /biː ɪn ə ˌbæd ˈweɪ/ [adjective phrase] informal
to be very ill, especially as a result of a serious injury or disease :
▪ You’d better get an ambulance - she’s in a pretty bad way.
▪ Martin came back from Africa with malaria, and he was in a pretty bad way for months.
▷ look like death warmed up British /death warmed over American /lʊk laɪk ˌdeθ wɔːʳmd ˈʌp, ˌdeθ wɔːʳmd ˈəʊvəʳ/ [verb phrase] spoken
to look ill and pale, especially because you did not get enough sleep or are suffering for the effects of too much alcohol :
▪ Kate didn’t sleep a wink last night. She looks like death warmed up.
▪ Boy, you look like death warmed over this morning!
2. slightly ill
▷ under the weather /ˌʌndəʳ ðə ˈweðəʳ/ [adjective phrase] informal
slightly ill :
▪ I hear you’ve been a bit under the weather. Are you feeling better now?
▪ Mike’s feeling a little under the weather so he couldn’t come tonight.
▷ off colour /ˌɒf ˈkʌləʳ/ [adjective phrase] British
slightly ill :
▪ I’m fine, thank you, but Elinor’s a bit off colour at the moment.
▪ Bruce went to the doctor, feeling a little off colour, and was told that he had anaemia.
▷ run down /ˌrʌn ˈdaʊn/ [adjective phrase]
feeling slightly ill and tired all the time, for example because you have been working too hard, not eating well etc :
▪ You’re run down -- you need a vacation.
▪ A lot of people feel run down in the winter months, when the days are short and there’s very little sunlight.
3. when someone is often ill
▷ sickly /ˈsɪkli/ [adjective]
a sickly child is often ill :
▪ He was a sickly child with a bad chest and a permanent cough.
▪ Louise, who was often sickly, couldn’t join in the other children’s games.
▷ delicate /ˈdelɪkɪt, ˈdelɪkət/ [adjective] formal
unhealthy and weak and likely to become ill easily :
▪ Clare was more active than her brother, who had always been a delicate child.
▪ Mr Humphreys’ wife was delicate - the doctor was called in once or twice a week.
▷ in poor health /ɪn ˌpʊəʳ ˈhelθ/ [adjective phrase]
fairly ill all the time or over a long period of time, and generally not strong and healthy :
▪ When he left Trinidad he was already over 60, frail, and in poor health.
▷ infirm /ɪnˈfɜːʳm/ [adjective not before noun] formal
not healthy or strong, especially because of old age :
▪ She lives with her grandmother who is elderly and infirm.
the infirm
people who are infirm
▪ The "Meals on Wheels’ service delivers food to the old and infirm.
▷ prone to something /ˈprəʊn tə something/ [adjective phrase]
likely to become ill or to get a particular illness :
▪ As a child she had always been prone to allergies.
▪ The disease had left her weak and prone to all kinds of infections.
4. someone who imagines they are ill
▷ hypochondriac /ˌhaɪpəˈkɒndriækǁ-ˈkɑːn-/ [countable noun]
someone who often thinks that they are ill when they are not and worries too much about their health :
▪ Don’t be such a hypochondriac - it’s only a cold!
▪ She’s a bit of a hypochondriac - always looking up her minor illnesses in a medical book.
5. to feel ill
▷ feel ill British /feel sick American /ˌfiːl ˈɪl, ˌfiːl ˈsɪk/ [verb phrase]
▪ ‘Do you feel ill, darling?’ asked Rosie anxiously.
▪ I was feeling ill, so I went home.
▪ Mark said he felt sick, so I’ve made an appointment with the doctor.
▷ not feel (very) well also not feel too good also not feel good American informal /ˌnɒt fiːl (veri) ˈwel, ˌnɒt fiːl tuː ˈgʊd, ˌnɒt fiːl ˈgʊd/ [verb phrase]
to feel slightly ill :
▪ If you don’t feel well the best thing to do is to stay in bed.
▪ ‘I don’t feel very well,’ said Jamie, suddenly going very pale.
▪ Ben’s not feeling good this morning. I think it’s something he ate.
▪ No, I don’t think I’ll be coming out tonight. I’m not feeling too good.
▷ feel funny /ˌfiːl ˈfʌni/ [verb phrase] spoken informal
to feel slightly ill - use this especially when you do not know what is wrong with you :
▪ I felt a bit funny and dizzy, and then the next thing I knew I was lying on the floor.
▷ feel rough /ˌfiːl ˈrʌf/ [verb phrase] British spoken
to feel ill :
▪ Don’t get up if you’re feeling rough - I’ll bring you some breakfast in bed.
▪ Liz said she was feeling pretty rough yesterday -- I don’t think she’ll come to work today.
▷ feel sick British /feel sick to your stomach American /ˌfiːl ˈsɪk, fiːl ˌsɪk tə jɔːʳ ˈstʌmək/ [verb phrase]
to feel as if you are going to vomit bring food up from your stomach :
▪ We’d only been in the car two minutes when David said he felt sick.
▪ When I was pregnant, the smell of coffee made me feel sick to my stomach.
▷ groggy /ˈgrɒgiǁˈgrɑːgi/ [adjective not usually before noun] informal
feeling weak and tired as a result of illness or drugs :
▪ You shouldn’t drive after taking these pills. They’re likely to make you feel groggy.
groggy from
▪ I went to see Sally in hospital, but she was still groggy from the anaesthetic.
▷ feel faint /ˌfiːl ˈfeɪnt/ [verb phrase]
to feel very weak and as if you are going to become unconscious :
▪ It was a very hot day, and I suddenly felt faint and sick.
▪ If at any time you feel faint or nauseous, stop taking the tablets.
6. to become ill
▷ get/become ill British /get/become sick American /ˌget, bɪˌkʌm ˈɪl, ˌget, bɪˌkʌm ˈsɪk/ [verb phrase]
▪ It’s horrible when you get ill on holiday.
▪ If you take vitamin C every day, it helps to stop you getting sick.
▪ My father first became ill when I was 12, and died a few months later.
▪ People were scared of becoming sick because they couldn’t pay the doctor’s bills.
▷ fall ill also fall sick American /ˌfɔːl ˈɪl, ˌfɔːl ˈsɪk/ [verb phrase]
to become ill, especially with a long or serious illness :
▪ If you live alone, you often wonder who would look after you if you fell ill.
▪ New Year’s Eve revellers fell sick after drinking an orange liquid at a downtown ‘rave’ party.
fall ill with
▪ It was the first time the president had been back to his office since falling ill with pneumonia in January.
▷ be taken ill /biː ˌteɪkən ˈɪl/ [verb phrase] especially British, written
to suddenly or unexpectedly become ill :
▪ I heard that her sister had been taken ill and rushed to hospital.
be taken ill with
▪ The band cut short their tour after singer Robert Smith was taken ill with severe stomach pains.
7. someone who is ill
▷ patient /ˈpeɪʃ ə nt/ [countable noun]
someone who is ill and is being looked after by a doctor, nurse etc :
▪ St Dominic’s Hospital treats about 10,000 patients a year.
cancer/leukemia/AIDS etc patients
▪ He gave a half million pound donation towards the care of AIDs patients.
patients with cancer/aids/leukemia etc
▪ Clinical trials show that some patients with breast cancer do better if they take the drug for five years after surgery.
▷ sufferer /ˈsʌf ə rəʳ/ [countable noun]
someone who has a particular illness or who often has a particular illness :
▪ Lupus is a disease of the immune system and nine out of ten sufferers are women.
hay fever/asthma/cancer etc sufferer
▪ The health centre runs a support group for Parkinson’s disease sufferers.
▪ Summer can be a nightmare for hay fever sufferers.
sufferer from hay fever/asthma/cancer etc
▪ Many sufferers from depression struggle on for years before seeking help.
▷ invalid /ˈɪnvəliːd, -lə̇dǁ-lə̇d/ [countable noun]
someone who is permanently ill and needs to be looked after, especially if they have to stay in bed :
▪ My father’s an invalid, and needs constant care.
somebody’s invalid wife/son etc
▪ Barbara decided to move her invalid mother to Mississippi, so that she could look after her herself.
▷ the sick /ðə ˈsɪk/ [plural noun]
people who are ill and need to be helped or treated :
▪ At that time there were no state benefits for the old and the sick.
▪ terrible wartime photographs of the sick and the dying