ILLS Synonyms: 127 Similar and Opposite Words

ills

noun

plural of ill

as in diseases

an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning chicken pox and the other ills that were once a fixture of childhood

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as in evils

that which is morally unacceptable idealistic people who try to cure all of our society's ills

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in misfortunes

bad luck or an example of this the travelers merrily set off on their journey, scarcely imagining the ills that would befall them

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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 ills Alex Pantling/Getty Images What is clear is that no one thinks the changes enacted in either the Championship or League One are a resolution to the EFL’s marked financial ills. — Chris Weatherspoon, New York Times, 14 Aug. 2026 Blaming billionaire wealth-hoarding for America’s ills would poll very well among the nation’s anthropology departments. — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026 Last month, Kwon’s team, in collaboration with Seongju Kim at Hanbat National University, in Daejeon, South Korea, presented its solution to HBM’s future ills. — IEEE Spectrum, 8 July 2026 Hualde says that some Pamplona residents rue his early promotion of the festival due to the ills of overtourism the sleepy provincial city is now experiencing. — ABC News, 6 July 2026 Large protests are expected and, in a country where migration has become an easy target for people suffering from a cascade of social and economic ills, the gatherings risk becoming combustible. — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 29 June 2026 But that also eradicates a crucial option - to mount a show trial and scapegoat him for all the ills of his rule, thus absolving others. — Melik Kaylan, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026 Through humor, the master is about to expose humanity's ills. — Rance Collins, Entertainment Weekly, 28 June 2026 Ultimately, a ballot initiative won’t cure the ills that plague healthcare in the United States, said the Lown Institute’s Saini. — Kff Health News, Oc Register, 10 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ills

Noun

The lack of federal guidance, conflicting messages and potential barriers to immunizations worry public health officials because vaccination rates are already falling, leading to resurgences of dangerous diseases like measles.

— Rob Stein, NPR, 2 Sep. 2026
More fertilizer will likely bring about a higher quality lawn, but along with that carpet-like appearance comes higher water demands, more mowing, and in some cases, a greater susceptibility to pests and diseases.

— Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of diseases

Noun

But for Mayor Tom Loftis (Matthew Rhys), the local personalities pale in comparison to the evils lurking beneath the cursed island’s surface.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 11 Aug. 2026
Only instead of crusading against the evils of dancing teenagers, our most pedantic podcasters have joined forces to convince their audiences that Tony Romo should be doing the Texas two-step to the nearest unemployment office.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 11 Aug. 2026

Definition of evils

Noun

Poliński said Zosia would likely have been blamed for misfortunes such as disease and famine that often plagued the region in the 17th century, which people sometimes attributed to supernatural activity by the dead.

— Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2026
But the fire this time was started by a son, which led to raging misfortunes that consumed his three brothers one by one, leaving only ashen memories for his surviving sister and aged parents to sift through.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of misfortunes

Noun

And for five years, the retirees have been fighting these wrongs with little or no support from the vast majority of the City Council who have never even met with the retirees’ representatives.

— Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 24 Aug. 2026
And having the club fined is also not going to cause individual players to curtail their emotions or not defend themselves against actual or perceived wrongs.

— Armando Salguero OutKick, FOXNews.com, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of wrongs

Noun

The latter is embodied by an underground race of telepathic mutants who worship an unexploded nuclear bomb and find themselves in conflict with the apes, as well as the few surviving humans, on the way to a finale that out-tragedies the original.

— Jesse Hassenger, Entertainment Weekly, 2 Sep. 2026
The fire was among Pakistan’s deadliest recent tragedies involving children.

— ABC News, ABC News, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of tragedies

Noun

The question of defining a measles death hasn't come up much in recent decades because vaccination rates were high and measles illnesses and deaths had become rare.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 30 Aug. 2026
Thousands of people were sickened by foodborne illnesses this summer.

— Dian Zhang, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of illnesses

Noun

In addition to public goods, AI will also create public bads.

— James Broughel, Forbes.com, 8 June 2026
Naturally, the meeting is a flop because no one was prepared, and their spontaneous ideas are frankly fireable-offense bad (a baguette bag shaped like a baguette for Paris?

— Jessica M. Goldstein, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2025