ILLNESS Synonyms: 88 Similar and Opposite Words

illness

noun

ˈil-nəs

Definition of illness

as in disease

an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning suffered from a mysterious illness that left her weak and tired all the time

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in sickness

the condition of not being in good health prone to illness as a child, he was sent to a western ranch with the expectation that it would toughen him up

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of illness Weller died Thursday on the day before her birthday after a brief illness, her longtime partner Michael Roy Curtis announced. — Mike Barnes, HollywoodReporter, 2 Oct. 2026 With that came a very millennial approach to living with the illness, using TikTok and Instagram under the handle @limpbroozkit to share her story. — Margaux Anbouba, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026 If your doctor decides that you could have been exposed to rabies, treatment may include a series of rabies vaccination shots, which will prevent rabies symptoms, illness and death. — Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026 Rather, the first doctor to see the child’s grave illness is often the pathologist who performs their autopsy. — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 1 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for illness

Recent Examples of Synonyms for illness

Noun

Alzheimer’s disease and other types of dementia are difficult to study, in part because diagnosing the disease early in people is challenging.

— Julie Moreno, The Conversation, 6 Oct. 2026
Younger demographics are being diagnosed with increasing cases of colon cancer, and people of color face disproportionately higher mortality rates from the disease.

— Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 6 Oct. 2026

Definition of disease

Noun

Even the pancreas of a character’s unseen wife, the sickness in which AIG promises to double back and cure if only everyone keeps hurtling forward.

— David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 6 Oct. 2026
From sickness and ennui came the writing of an algorithm that would solve the underlying mathematics of the bomb.

— Artforum, Artforum, 28 Sep. 2026

Definition of sickness

Noun

Another handful of Panthers injuries to monitor The Panthers also have a few ailments to keep track of during the Week 5 bye.

— Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2026
This puzzle is stuffed with nuance, pleasing crosses and a lot of simply terrific, ridiculously evocative stuff — for example, a jarring assortment of lovely trivia intersecting with some hideous ailments at more than one juncture.

— Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of ailment

Noun

In the story, the duck doesn’t make it, and the now-ill patient didn’t wear any gloves while handling it.

— Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 2 Oct. 2026
The game’s maker, Paolo Pedercini, has long diagnosed the ills of modern capitalism through countercultural video games like Phone Story (2011), which depicted the exploitative supply chain of a smartphone.

— Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of ill

Noun

Contact the treating clinician promptly for worsening pain, spreading redness or warmth, pus-like drainage, fever, extensive blistering, eye symptoms, or a reaction substantially more severe than described.

— Malana VanTyler, Miami Herald, 6 Oct. 2026
Duale said the patient had symptoms including fever, chills, fatigue, weakness, muscle pain, sore throat and painful swallowing.

— ABC News, ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026