noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ deadly , fatal , incurable , terminal
▪ catastrophic ( AmE , law ), critical , dangerous , debilitating , devastating , life-threatening , major , serious , severe , terrible
▪
He suffered from a debilitating ~ which made everyday life a struggle.
▪ mild , minor
▪ treatable
▪
Clinical depression is a treatable ~.
▪ preventable
▪
TB is a major cause of preventable ~ and death.
▪ lengthy , lingering , long , long-standing , long-term , prolonged
▪ degenerative , progressive
▪ brief , short
▪ final , last
▪ acute , chronic
▪ sudden
▪
Kerry died of a sudden ~.
▪ infectious
▪ family , genetic
▪
We assess the applicant's history of family ~.
▪ painful
▪ mysterious , mystery , unexplained
▪
They had failed to find the cause of his mystery ~.
▪ common
▪
Diabetes is a common ~.
▪ rare
▪
He became blind after contracting a rare ~.
▪ depressive , mental , psychiatric , psychological , psychotic , stress-related
▪ psychosomatic
▪ medical
▪
Depression is a treatable medical ~.
▪ AIDS-related , flu-like , food-borne ( esp. AmE ), physical , respiratory , smoking-related , viral
▪ childhood
… OF ILLNESS
▪ bout , episode
▪
an acute episode of mental ~
VERB + ILLNESS
▪ experience , have , suffer , suffer from
▪
those who experience mental ~
▪
Badly fed children suffer a lot of minor ~es.
▪
people who suffer from mental ~
▪ catch , contract , develop , get
▪
people who never seem to catch the ~es their friends get
▪
He contracted a serious ~ and died a month later.
▪ diagnose
▪ treat
▪
The drug is used to treat a wide range of ~es.
▪ cure , heal ( esp. AmE )
▪
The only thing that could cure her ~ was a special herb.
▪ control , manage
▪
ways to help arthritis sufferers manage their ~
▪ survive
▪
She survived a life-threatening ~.
▪ beat
▪
Claire is optimistic she can beat her ~.
▪ cause
▪
~es caused by poverty
▪ prevent
▪
a drug that may be helpful in preventing ~es such as cancer
▪ battle , combat
▪ fight , fight off , overcome , recover from
▪
The immune system enables the body to fight off ~.
▪ fake , feign
▪
She feigned ~ so that she wouldn't have to go to school.
▪ nurse sb through
▪
She nursed her father through his final ~.
▪ bear
▪
She bore her final ~ with great courage.
ILLNESS + VERB
▪ affect sb , afflict ( formal )
▪
The mystery ~ affected hundreds of people.
▪
Mental ~ afflicts one in four people.
▪ plague sb
▪
Her childhood was plagued by ~.
▪ hit (sb) , strike (sb)
▪
Suddenly, ~ hit the household.
▪
The ~ struck while he was touring.
▪ arise , occur
▪
Some ~es occur more frequently following puberty.
▪ cause sth
▪
the pain and distress caused by your ~
▪ progress
▪
As his ~ progressed, Neil began to have difficulty speaking.
▪ result (from sth)
▪
Sometimes it's hard to tell whether ~es result from bacteria or viruses.
▪ require sth
▪
Both ~es require treatment.
PREPOSITION
▪ after ~
▪
He's just returned to work after ~.
▪ because of ~ , due to ~ , through ~
▪
earnings lost through ~
▪ with ~
▪
people with serious psychological ~es
▪ ~ among
▪
a high rate of ~ among the workers
▪ ~ associated with
▪
the ~es associated with HIV infection
▪ ~ from
▪
the first case of ~ from the Ebola virus
▪ ~ in
▪
episodes of ~ in children
PHRASES
▪ the onset of an ~
▪
the sudden onset of ~ in a parent