INDEX:
1. an illness
2. to have an illness
3. to start to have an illness
4. a short illness
5. when a lot of people have an illness
RELATED WORDS
: ↑ ILL/SICK , ↑ DOCTOR , ↑ CURE , ↑ RECOVER , ↑ WEAK , ↑ PAIN , ↑ DRUG , ↑ MENTALLY ILL , ↑ PAIN , ↑ HOSPITAL , ↑ HEALTHY/UNHEALTHY , ↑ MEDICAL TREATMENT , ↑ SICK/VOMIT , ↑ SUFFER
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1. an illness
▷ illness /ˈɪlnɪs, ˈɪlnəs/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a health problem that you are suffering from which makes you feel ill :
▪ She died yesterday after a long illness.
suffer from an illness
▪ People are often too embarrassed to admit that they have suffered from any form of mental illness.
recover from an illness
▪ 80% of patients now recover completely from this illness and are able to lead perfectly normal lives.
contract an illness
formal get or begin to have an illness, especially a serious one
▪ Doctors believe he may have contracted the illness while he was in Africa.
minor illness
one that is not serious
▪ Minor illnesses such as colds are usually best left to get better by themselves.
terminal illness
one that cannot be cured and causes death
▪ Should doctors always tell patients that they have terminal illnesses such as cancer?
serious illness
one that makes you very ill
▪ You are allowed time off work only in cases of serious illness or bereavement.
▷ disease /dɪˈziːz/ [countable/uncountable noun]
a particular illness that has a medical name :
▪ The most common symptoms of the disease are a high temperature and spots all over the body.
▪ Thousands of people in this area are dying from hunger and disease.
catch a disease
get a disease from another person
▪ Anyone can catch the disease -- not just homosexual men or drug addicts.
suffer from a disease
have a disease
▪ She suffers from a rare disease of the nervous system.
infectious disease
easily passed from one person to another by breathing
▪ Travellers to India are advised to get vaccinated against infectious diseases such as typhoid before they go.
contagious disease
easily passed from one person to another by touch
▪ Childhood diseases such as measles and chickenpox are highly contagious.
fatal disease
one which causes death
▪ Malaria is still a common disease in West Africa and is often fatal.
heart/lung/kidney etc disease
▪ Smoking is a major cause of heart disease.
▷ virus /ˈvaɪ ə rəs/ [countable noun]
a small living thing that causes infectious illnesses, or a type of infectious illness :
▪ the virus that causes the common cold
▪ He could be carrying the AIDS virus.
▪ It is estimated that over thirty million people are now infected with the virus.
▪ a vaccine which protects against Hepatitis B, a highly infectious virus which is transmitted sexually or by sharing infected needles.
▪ She thinks she picked up some kind of mystery virus while she was on vacation.
▷ bug /bʌg/ [countable noun] informal
an illness that people catch very easily from each other but that is not very serious :
pick up a bug
get a bug
▪ I think I’ve picked up the bug that’s been going round the office.
stomach/tummy bug
illness affecting the stomach
▪ Gemima’s been off school with a tummy bug this week.
catch a bug
▪ Young schoolkids are always catching various bugs.
▷ infection /ɪnˈfekʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
an illness that is caused by bacteria and that affects one part of your body, such as your ears, throat, lungs, or skin :
▪ If you don’t clean the wound properly you could get an infection.
throat/ear/lung etc infection
▪ Roz was suffering from a throat infection and could hardly talk.
▷ condition /kənˈdɪʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
a problem that affects someone’s health permanently or over a long period of time :
▪ People with your condition should not smoke.
suffer from a condition
▪ Diane suffers from a rare heart condition which means she has to take drugs all the time.
▷ ailment /ˈeɪlmənt/ [countable noun usually plural] formal
an illness of condition, especially one that affects a particular part of your body :
▪ The medicine was supposed to cure all kinds of ailments, ranging from colds to back pains.
▪ The most commonly reported ailment among VDU operators is eye-strain.
minor ailment
▪ Patients who often complain of minor ailments might have something more important on their minds.
▷ disorder /dɪsˈɔːʳdəʳ/ [countable noun]
an illness that prevents part of your body from working properly or affects the way you behave, especially one that is permanent or continues for a long time :
eating/personality disorder
▪ Children with eating disorders such as anorexia need close supervision.
stomach/liver/skin etc disorder
▪ Minor stomach disorders are common when travelling abroad.
▪ Eventually after weeks of tests they discovered I had a rare liver disorder.
disorder of the liver/stomach/brain etc
▪ The hospital specializes in treating disorders of the brain.
▷ complaint /kəmˈpleɪnt/ [countable noun]
an illness that affects a particular part of your body, especially one that is not very serious - used especially by doctors or in medical books :
▪ The cream is normally used for treating minor skin complaints.
▪ Hay fever is a common complaint in spring and summer.
2. to have an illness
▷ have also have got British /hæv, həv ˈgɒtǁ-ˈgɑːt/ [transitive verb]
to have an illness :
▪ Beth has an awful cold.
▪ I had all the usual childhood illnesses.
▪ Have you ever had pneumonia?
▪ I think Jo’s got flu.
▷ suffer from /ˈsʌfəʳ frɒm/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to have a particular type of illness or health problem, especially one that is serious or one that you have often :
▪ Dewey had been in hospital for several weeks suffering from malaria.
▪ She suffers from asthma attacks.
▷ there’s something wrong with /ðeəʳz ˌsʌmθɪŋ ˈrɒŋ wɪðǁ-ˈrɔːǁŋ-/ informal
use this to say that you have a medical problem affecting part of your body, but you are not sure exactly what it is :
▪ There’s something wrong with my chest - it feels really tight.
▪ We thought there might be something wrong with her hearing.
▷ with /wɪð, wɪθ/ [preposition]
use this before the name of a disease, to say that someone has this disease :
▪ ‘Where’s Helen?’ ‘She’s in bed with flu.’
▪ The charity provides support for people with AIDS.
▷ complain of /kəmˈpleɪn ɒv/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to tell a doctor that you have a particular kind of pain or other sign of being ill - used especially to say what the person who is ill said :
▪ He was admitted to hospital complaining of severe stomach pains.
▪ Many patients complain of headaches and difficulty sleeping when they take this drug.
▷ be infected with /biː ɪnˈfektə̇d wɪð/ [verb phrase]
to have an illness, especially a serious illness, that you caught from another person :
▪ Figures released last week put the number of people infected with HIV at over 30,000.
▪ Did you know when you first met him that he was infected with the disease?
3. to start to have an illness
▷ get /get/ [transitive verb]
to start to have an illness :
▪ I feel all hot - I think I’m getting flu.
▪ Smoking increases the risk of getting cancer.
get something from/off someone
get an infectious disease from someone else
▪ He thinks he got the cold from someone in the office.
▷ catch /kætʃ/ [transitive verb]
to get a disease from someone else :
▪ Luke has measles. I hope I don’t catch it.
catch something from/off somebody
▪ I think I must have caught the flu from Sarah.
▷ come down with also go down with something British /ˌkʌm ˈdaʊn wɪð, ˌgəʊ ˈdaʊn wɪð something/ [transitive phrasal verb] spoken
to start to have an illness, especially one that is not serious :
▪ I’m afraid we can’t come this weekend - the baby’s gone down with a sore throat.
▷ pick up /ˌpɪk ˈʌp/ [transitive phrasal verb]
to get a not very serious illness such as a cold, a stomach problem etc - use this especially to say where you got it :
pick up something
▪ I picked up a stomach bug on holiday in Turkey.
pick something up
▪ Brendan has a cold. He must have picked it up at school.
▷ develop /dɪˈveləp/ [transitive verb not in passive]
to gradually become ill with a particular illness, but not by catching it from someone else :
▪ After her family brought her home from hospital, she developed pneumonia.
▪ It is possible to develop diabetes in adulthood.
development [uncountable noun]
▪ a vaccine to prevent the development of influenza
▷ contract /kənˈtrækt/ [transitive verb]
to get a serious illness - used especially in formal or medical contexts :
▪ Orwell contracted tuberculosis during the war and eventually died from the disease.
▪ Dr Chalmers is trying to find out how many people may have contracted the disease in her area.
4. a short illness
▷ attack /əˈtæk/ [countable noun]
when you suddenly begin to have an illness that you often have, especially when this only continues for a short time :
▪ One of my students suddenly had an attack of asthma and I didn’t know what to do.
▪ Malaria often doesn’t go away completely, and a patient may suffer from repeated attacks over several years.
▷ a bout of /ə ˈbaʊt ɒv/ [noun phrase]
a short period of suffering from an illness, especially one that is not serious :
▪ In recent months he had had several bouts of flu.
▪ The patient may experience bouts of nausea as a result of the treatment.
▷ a touch of /ə ˈtʌtʃ ɒv/ [noun phrase] informal
a short period of suffering from an illness that is not serious :
▪ It’s nothing serious -- just a touch of indigestion.
▪ I feel like I’m getting a touch of flu.
5. when a lot of people have an illness
▷ outbreak /ˈaʊtbreɪk/ [countable noun]
when a lot of people suddenly start to get an illness at the same time :
outbreak of
▪ Doctors are very concerned about an outbreak of tuberculosis in an East London School.
▷ epidemic /ˌepɪˈdemɪk, ˌepəˈdemɪk/ [countable noun]
when a lot of people in an area or country get a disease, and it spreads very quickly :
▪ AIDS has become an epidemic in some countries.
▪ Doctors warn that a flu epidemic may be on the way.