ill (?l)adj. worse (wûrs), worst (wûrst) 1. Not healthy; sick: I began to feel ill last week.2. Not normal; unsound: an ill condition of body and mind.3. Resulting in suffering; harmful or distressing: the ill effects of a misconceived policy.4. a. Resulting from or suggestive of evil intentions: ill deeds committed out of spite.b. Ascribing an objectionable quality: holds an ill view of that political group.c. Hostile or unfriendly: ill feeling between rivals.d. Harmful; pernicious: the ill effects of a misconceived policy.5. Not favorable; unpropitious: ill predictions.6. Not measuring up to recognized standards of excellence, as of behavior or conduct: ill manners.7. Slang Excellent; outstanding: Your new car is really ill!adv. worse, worst 1. In a bad, inadequate, or improper way. Often used in combination: My words were ill-chosen.2. In an unfavorable way; unpropitiously: a statistic that bodes ill for job growth. 3. Scarcely or with difficulty: We can ill afford another mistake.n.1. Evil, wrongdoing, or harm: the ill that befell the townspeople.2. Something that causes suffering; trouble: the social ills of urban life.3. Something that reflects in an unfavorable way on one: Please don’t speak ill of me when I’m gone.4. (used with a pl. verb) Sick people considered as a group. Often used with the.Idiom: ill at ease Anxious or unsure; uneasy: The stranger made me feel ill at ease.[Middle English, from Old Norse ?llr, bad.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.