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as in harmful
causing or capable of causing harm
one of the ill effects of winter weather is the rapid spread of germs as people spend more time together indoors
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as in poorly
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
since I'm ill, I guess that I'll just have to miss that dental appointment
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as in poor
falling short of a standard
such ill behavior will not be tolerated
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as in ominous
being or showing a sign of evil or calamity to come
the abrupt breakdown of negotiations appears to be an ill omen for this ongoing hostage situation
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as in severely
in a manner so as to cause loss or suffering
in those days society treated debtors very ill, even going so far as to put them in prison
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as in no
certainly not
you can ill afford to miss another day of work
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as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
chicken pox and the other ills that were once a fixture of childhood
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as in evil
that which is morally unacceptable
idealistic people who try to cure all of our society's ills
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as in misfortune
bad luck or an example of this
the travelers merrily set off on their journey, scarcely imagining the ills that would befall them
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Cite this Entry
“Ill.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ill. Accessed 16 Aug. 2026.
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