Definition of illness noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

illness

noun

/ˈɪlnəs/

[uncountable] the state of being physically or mentally ill
- The virus can cause illness in humans.
- mental/respiratory/chronic illness
- I missed a lot of school through illness last year.
Extra Examples
- She's just returned to work after illness.
- All his adult life he battled mental illness.
- Those with underlying health conditions like diabetes and respiratory illness are most at risk.
- People living with chronic illness need more support.
- The disease can cause severe illness and even death.
- His childhood was plagued by illness.
- She feigned illness so that she wouldn't have to go to school.
- Suddenly, illness hit the household.
- The immune system enables the body to fight off illness.
- We assess the applicant's history of family illness.
- earnings lost due to illness
- the first case of illness from the Ebola virus
Topics Health problemsa2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- deadly
- fatal
- incurable
- …
… of illness
- bout
- episode
verb + illness
- experience
- have
- suffer
- …
illness + verb
- affect somebody
- afflict
- plague somebody
- …
preposition
- after illness
- because of illness
- due to illness
- …
phrases
- the onset of an illness
See full entry
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[countable] a type or period of illness
- serious/severe/chronic illnesses
- a terminal illness
- childhood illnesses
- He died after a long illness.
- She suffers from a debilitating illness.
Synonyms illness
illnesssickness ▪ ill health ▪ troubleThese are all words for the state of being physically or mentally ill.
illness the state of being physically or mentally illsickness illness; bad health:
I recommend you get insurance against sickness and unemployment.
illness or sickness?Sickness is used especially in contexts concerning work and insurance. It is commonly found with words such as pay, leave, absence and insurance. Illness has a wider range of uses and is found in more general contexts.
ill health (rather formal) the state of being physically ill or having lots of health problems:
She resigned because of ill health.
Ill health often lasts a long period of time.trouble illness or pain:
heart trouble.
When trouble is used with this meaning, it is necessary to say which part of the body is affected.
Patterns
- chronic illness/sickness/ill health
- to suffer from illness/sickness/ill health/heart, etc. trouble
Synonyms disease
diseaseillness ▪ disorder ▪ infection ▪ condition ▪ ailment ▪ bugThese are all words for a medical problem.
disease a medical problem affecting humans, animals or plants, often caused by infection:
He suffers from a rare blood disease.
illness a medical problem, or a period of suffering from one:
She died after a long illness.
disease or illness?Disease is used to talk about more severe medical problems, especially specific conditions and those that affect particular organs: Crohn's/Parkinson's disease • heart/kidney/liver disease • heart/kidney/liver illness. Illness is used more generally and can refer to both severe and minor medical problems, and problems that affect mental health: a terminal/life-threatening illness • a mild/minor illness • mental illness • mental disease. Illness can be used about a period of time: a long/short illness • a long/short disease
disorder (rather formal) a condition that causes problems with the way part of the body or brain works:
a rare disorder of the liver
A disorder is generally not infectious. Disorder is often used in the names of specific conditions affecting the brain, for example attention deficit disorder, bipolar disorder or post-traumatic stress disorder. When it is used to talk about physical problems, it is often used with autoimmune, blood, bowel and kidney, and these are commonly serious, severe or rare.infection an illness that is caused by bacteria or a virus and that affects one part of the body:
a throat infection
condition a medical problem that you have for a long time because it is not possible to cure it:
a heart condition
ailment (rather formal) an illness that is not very serious:
childhood ailments
bug (informal) an infectious illness that is usually fairly mild:
a stomach bug
Patterns
- to have/suffer from a(n) disease/illness/disorder/infection/condition/ailment/bug
- to catch/contract/get/pick up a(n) disease/illness/infection/bug
Wordfinder
Collocations Illnesses
IllnessesBecoming ill
- catch a cold/an infectious disease/the flu/(British English) flu/pneumonia/a virus/(informal) a bug
- get (British English) ill/(North American English) sick/a disease/AIDS/breast cancer/a cold/the flu/(British English) flu/a migraine
- come down with a cold/the flu/(British English) flu
- contract a deadly disease/a serious illness/HIV/AIDS
- be infected with a virus/a parasite/HIV
- develop cancer/diabetes/a rash/an ulcer/symptoms of hepatitis
- have a heart attack/a stroke
- provoke/trigger/produce an allergic reaction
- block/burst/rupture a blood vessel
- damage/sever a nerve/an artery/a tendon
Being ill
- feel (British English) ill/nauseous/queasy
- be running (British English) a temperature/(North American English) a fever
- have a head cold/diabetes/heart disease/lung cancer/a headache/(British English) a high temperature/(North American English) a fever
- suffer from asthma/malnutrition/frequent headaches/nausea/bouts of depression/post-traumatic stress disorder
- be laid up with/ (British English) be in bed with a cold/the flu/(British English) flu/a migraine
- nurse a cold/a headache/a hangover
- battle/fight cancer/depression/addiction/alcoholism
Treatments
- examine a patient
- diagnose a condition/disease/disorder
- be diagnosed with cancer/diabetes/schizophrenia
- prescribe/be given/be on/take drugs/medicine/medication/pills/painkillers/antibiotics
- treat somebody for cancer/depression/shock
- have/undergo an examination/an operation/surgery/a kidney transplant/therapy/chemotherapy/treatment for cancer
- have/be given an injection/(British English) a flu jab/(North American English) a flu shot/a blood transfusion/a scan/an X-ray
- cure a disease/an ailment/cancer/a headache/a patient
- prevent the spread of disease/further outbreaks/damage to the lungs
- be vaccinated against the flu/(British English) flu/the measles/(British English) measles/polio/smallpox
- enhance/boost/confer/build immunity to a disease
Extra Examples
- Diabetes is a common illness.
- He became blind after contracting a rare illness.
- She survived a life-threatening illness.
- Some illnesses occur more frequently following puberty.
- Sometimes it's hard to tell whether illnesses result from bacteria or viruses.
- As his illness progressed, Neil began to have difficulty speaking.
- They had failed to find the cause of her mystery illness.
- a drug that may be helpful in preventing illnesses such as cancer
- Have you suffered from any serious illnesses in the past six months?
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- deadly
- fatal
- incurable
- …
… of illness
- bout
- episode
verb + illness
- experience
- have
- suffer
- …
illness + verb
- affect somebody
- afflict
- plague somebody
- …
preposition
- after illness
- because of illness
- due to illness
- …
phrases
- the onset of an illness
See full entry

See illness in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee illness in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English

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generic

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