transcription, транскрипция: [ ɪl ]
( ills)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
Someone who is ill is suffering from a disease or a health problem.
In November 1941 Payne was seriously ill with pneumonia...
ADJ : usu v-link ADJ
•
People who are ill in some way can be referred to as, for example, the mentally ill .
I used to work with the mentally ill...
N-PLURAL : the adv N
2.
Difficulties and problems are sometimes referred to as ills . ( FORMAL )
His critics maintain that he’s responsible for many of Algeria’s ills.
N-COUNT : usu pl , usu with supp
3.
Ill is evil or harm. ( LITERARY )
They say they mean you no ill.
N-UNCOUNT
4.
Ill means the same as ‘badly’. ( FORMAL )
The company’s conservative instincts sit ill with competition.
ADV : ADV with v
5.
You can use ill in front of some nouns to indicate that you are referring to something harmful or unpleasant. ( FORMAL )
She had brought ill luck into her family...
= bad
ADJ : ADJ n
6.
If you say that someone can ill afford to do something, or can ill afford something, you mean that they must prevent it from happening because it would be harmful or embarrassing to them. ( FORMAL )
It’s possible he won’t play but I can ill afford to lose him...
PHRASE : PHR to-inf , PHR n
7.
If you fall ill or are taken ill , you suddenly become ill.
Shortly before Christmas, he was mysteriously taken ill...
PHRASE : V inflects
8.
to speak ill of someone : see speak