The Oxford Thesaurus An A-Z Dictionary of Synonyms - ill adj.

1) ailing, unsound, sick, indisposed, infirm, unhealthy, in a bad way, diseased, afflicted, in bad health, sickly, unwell, not well, out of commission; invalided, valetudinarian; Colloq under the weather, in a bad way, poorly, not up to snuff, out of sorts, on the sick-list, off one's feed, Slang Brit dicky, seedy: Call a doctor - this man is ill. I was rather ill last night after eating that fish mousse. 2) bad, wicked, sinful, evil, iniquitous, immoral, depraved, vicious, vile, wrong, corrupt: Police raided several houses of ill repute. 3) hostile, unfriendly, antagonistic, belligerent, malevolent, malicious, ill-wishing, unkind(ly) , harsh, cruel: The reading of the bequests sparked ill will amongst the heirs. 4) harmful, hurtful, injurious, detrimental, damaging, pernicious, dangerous, adverse, deleterious, baleful, bad, unfavourable, destructive, disastrous, catastrophic, ruinous, cataclysmic: He suffered no lasting ill effects from the accident. 5) bad, miserable, wretched, disastrous, unfavourable, unpropitious, untoward, disturbing, unfortunate, unlucky, inauspicious, ominous, unpromising, sinister, unwholesome: Ill fortune led Ulysses to our isle. It is an ill wind that blows nobody good. 6) ill at ease. uncomfortable, discomfited, uneasy, edgy, on edge, fidgety, nervous, anxious, disturbed, distressed, troubled, awkward, unsure, uncertain: I felt ill at ease in the presence of so august a personage. --n. 7) evil, abuse: Speak no ill of her in my home! 8 harm, damage, injury, hurt, mischief, trouble, misfortune, misery, affliction, pain, distress, woe, woefulness, discomfort, unpleasantness, disaster, catastrophe, cataclysm, calamity, adversity, damage, suffering, ruin, destruction: You will be held responsible if any ill befalls the children. 9) injustice, inequity, wrong, evil, sin, transgression, abuse, mistreatment, maltreatment: He entered politics hoping to cure some of society's ills. --adv. 1) 0 badly, adversely, unfavourably, poorly, inauspiciously, unfortunately, unluckily: Don't speak ill of the dead. 1) 1 badly, adversely, unfavourably, critically, harshly, unkindly: Please don't think ill of me for failing to attend your wedding. 1) 2 unkindly, harshly, unfairly, unjustly, improperly, badly, wrongly, wrongfully, unsatisfactorily, poorly, malevolently, maliciously: He insists that he was ill-treated when in prison. 1) 3 scarcely, hardly, by no means, in no way: It ill behoves you to criticize other people's English.