# ill

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ɪl/ · frequency rank #1,946

## Definitions
1. Evil; wicked (of people).
2. Morally reprehensible (of behaviour etc.); blameworthy.
3. Indicative of unkind or malevolent intentions; harsh, cruel.
4. Unpropitious, unkind, faulty, not up to reasonable standard.
5. Unwell in terms of health or physical condition; sick.
6. Nauseated; having an urge to vomit.
7. Sublime, with the connotation of being so in a singularly creative way.
8. Extremely bad (bad enough to make one ill). Generally used indirectly with to be.
9. Unwise; not a good idea.
10. Bad-tempered.

## Etymology
From Middle English ille (“evil; wicked”), from Old Norse íllr (adjective), ílla (adverb), ílt (noun), from Proto-Germanic *ilhilaz, from Proto-Indo-European *h₁elḱ- (whence Latin ulcus (“sore”), Ancient Greek ἕλκος (hélkos, “wound, ulcer”), Sanskrit अर्शस् (árśas, “hemorrhoids”)).
Cognates
Cognate with Scots and Yola ill, Danish ilde (“bad”), Faroese, Icelandic illur (“bad, ill, wicked”), Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk ille (“bad”), Swedish illa (“badly; poorly”).

## Easily confused with
- **in** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-in)
- **is** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-is)
- **it** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-it)
- **IV** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-iv)
- **IP** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-ip)
- **IQ** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-iq)
- **io** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-io)
- **iz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-iz)
- **its** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-its)
- **inc** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-inc)
- **ion** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-ion)
- **iOS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-ios)
- **ink** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-ink)
- **inn** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-inn)
- **ins** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-ins)
- **IRS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-irs)
- **IRA** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-ira)
- **ivy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-ivy)
- **int** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-int)
- **iso** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ill-vs-iso)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ill