sick - ill

sick - ill
Ill and sick are both used to say that someone has a disease or some other problem with their health.

Davis is ill.

...a sick child.

Your uncle is very sick.

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Most British speakers do not use ill in front of a noun unless they are also using an adverb. For example, they do not talk about `an ill woman', but they might talk about `a seriously ill woman'.

...a terminally ill patient.

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American and Scottish speakers sometimes use ill in front of a noun without using an adverb.

We had to get medical help for our ill sisters.

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You do not say that someone becomes `iller' or `more ill'. You say that they become worse.

Each day Kunta felt a little worse.

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◊ 'be sick'
To be sick means to bring up food from your stomach. See entry at ↑ sick.
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You do not use ill or sick to say that someone has received an injury. You say that they are injured or hurt. See entries at ↑ injure and ↑ hurt.
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Useful english dictionary. 2012.

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  • ill — ill, sick Ill and sick share responsibilities in peculiar ways, and are not always interchangeable. To begin with, ill is more usually predicative (placed after a verb, as in She was ill), whereas sick occurs naturally in attributive position… …   Modern English usage

  • sick — ill, sick Ill and sick share responsibilities in peculiar ways, and are not always interchangeable. To begin with, ill is more usually predicative (placed after a verb, as in She was ill), whereas sick occurs naturally in attributive position… …   Modern English usage

  • ill — /il/, adj., worse, worst, n., adv. adj. 1. of unsound physical or mental health; unwell; sick: She felt ill, so her teacher sent her to the nurse. 2. objectionable; unsatisfactory; poor; faulty: ill manners. 3. hostile; unkindly: ill feeling. 4.… …   Universalium

  • ill — [[t]ɪl[/t]] adj. worse, worst, n. adv. 1) pat of unsound physical or mental health; unwell; sick 2) objectionable; faulty: ill manners[/ex] 3) hostile; unkindly: ill feeling[/ex] 4) evil; wicked: of ill repute[/ex] 5) unfavorable; adverse: ill… …   From formal English to slang

  • sick — {{11}}sick (adj.) unwell, O.E. seoc, from P.Gmc. *seukaz, of uncertain origin. The general Germanic word (Cf. O.N. sjukr, Dan. syg, O.S. siok, O.Fris. siak, M.Du. siec, O.H.G. sioh, Goth. siuks sick, ill ), but in German and Dutch displaced by… …   Etymology dictionary

  • Sick leave — (or paid sick days or sick pay) is time off from work that workers can use during periods of temporary illness to stay home and address their health and safety needs without losing pay. Some workplaces offer paid sick time as a matter of… …   Wikipedia

  • Sick — Sick, a. [Compar. {Sicker}; superl. {Sickest}.] [OE. sek, sik, ill, AS. se[ o]c; akin to OS. siok, seoc, OFries. siak, D. ziek, G. siech, OHG. sioh, Icel. sj?kr, Sw. sjuk, Dan. syg, Goth. siuks ill, siukan to be ill.] 1. Affected with disease of… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sick bay — Sick Sick, a. [Compar. {Sicker}; superl. {Sickest}.] [OE. sek, sik, ill, AS. se[ o]c; akin to OS. siok, seoc, OFries. siak, D. ziek, G. siech, OHG. sioh, Icel. sj?kr, Sw. sjuk, Dan. syg, Goth. siuks ill, siukan to be ill.] 1. Affected with… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sick bed — Sick Sick, a. [Compar. {Sicker}; superl. {Sickest}.] [OE. sek, sik, ill, AS. se[ o]c; akin to OS. siok, seoc, OFries. siak, D. ziek, G. siech, OHG. sioh, Icel. sj?kr, Sw. sjuk, Dan. syg, Goth. siuks ill, siukan to be ill.] 1. Affected with… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Sick berth — Sick Sick, a. [Compar. {Sicker}; superl. {Sickest}.] [OE. sek, sik, ill, AS. se[ o]c; akin to OS. siok, seoc, OFries. siak, D. ziek, G. siech, OHG. sioh, Icel. sj?kr, Sw. sjuk, Dan. syg, Goth. siuks ill, siukan to be ill.] 1. Affected with… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

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