ill

Definitions


[ɪl], (Adjective)

Definitions:
- suffering from an illness or disease or feeling unwell
(e.g: he was taken ill with food poisoning)

- poor in quality
(e.g: ill judgement dogs the unsuccessful)


Phrases:
- ill at ease
- speak ill of
- think ill of

Origin:
Middle English (in the senses ‘wicked’, ‘malevolent’, ‘harmful’, and ‘difficult’): from Old Norse illr ‘evil, difficult’, of unknown origin


[ɪl], (Adverb)

Definitions:
- badly, wrongly, or imperfectly
(e.g: the street is dominated by ill-lit shops)

- only with difficulty; hardly
(e.g: she could ill afford the cost of new curtains)


Phrases:
- ill at ease
- speak ill of
- think ill of

Origin:
Middle English (in the senses ‘wicked’, ‘malevolent’, ‘harmful’, and ‘difficult’): from Old Norse illr ‘evil, difficult’, of unknown origin


[ɪl], (Noun)

Definitions:
- a problem or misfortune
(e.g: a lengthy work on the ills of society)


Phrases:
- ill at ease
- speak ill of
- think ill of

Origin:
Middle English (in the senses ‘wicked’, ‘malevolent’, ‘harmful’, and ‘difficult’): from Old Norse illr ‘evil, difficult’, of unknown origin




definition by Oxford Dictionaries