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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in evils

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 Hilton has blasted Becerra as taking the state’s voters for granted, failing to hold public campaign events to explain his detailed plans to address California’s many ills. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026 Now, in The Social Reckoning, Sorkin focuses on the ills of the company Facebook eventually became. — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 7 Oct. 2026 The game’s maker, Paolo Pedercini, has long diagnosed the ills of modern capitalism through countercultural video games like Phone Story (2011), which depicted the exploitative supply chain of a smartphone. — Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026 In this framework, the cure for the party’s ills can only come from inside the party, not from any external force. — Andrew Mertha, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026 But unlike Transcription or George Saunders’s Vigil, the year’s other novel about a rich old man on his way to the underworld, this book doesn’t try to diagnose our collective ills. — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026 The colonial latifundium, instead of being abolished by independence, was strengthened, leading to any number of national ills. — Literary Hub, 4 Sep. 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

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ills

Noun

Animal diseases also threaten our economy and food system, destroying more than 20% of global livestock production each year.

— Robert Kelly, Fortune, 22 Oct. 2026
The couple created the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, a philanthropic organization whose efforts include curing, managing and preventing all diseases.

— Queenie Wong, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of diseases

Noun

Given the end of the world, which is the greater of the two evils?

— Lexi Carson, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2026
One key objection was the mature tone of the narrative, in which the child protagonist is directly confronted and endangered by the evils derived from fascist ideologies.

— Carlos Aguilar, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 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

The campaign is unfolding as the city contends with myriad urban ailments.

— ABC News, ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026
Running backs Tank Bigsby and Will Shipley also are dealing with ailments, while offensive lineman Lane Johnson surprised everyone with his retirement mid-season.

— Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of ailments

Noun

By century’s end, however, the specter of famine had largely receded (aside from tragedies of war and misgovernment, no small caveat).

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2026
Investigators are still working to determine how Boahene was dragged by the train and ways to prevent similar tragedies.

— Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of tragedies

Noun

No illnesses have been reported so far, according to the recall notice.

— Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 23 Oct. 2026
Likewise, the agents that cause illnesses such as COVID-19, influenza, mumps, pertussis, and strep throat can be transmitted as heavy droplets that land on mucous membranes.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 23 Oct. 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