ILLNESS: Synonyms and Related Words. What is Another Word for ILLNESS?

Need another word that means the same as “illness”? Find 13 synonyms and 30 related words for “illness” in this overview.

The synonyms of “Illness” are: malady, sickness, unwellness, disease, ailment, disorder, complaint, affliction, attack, infection, contagion, disability, indisposition

Illness as a Noun

Definitions of "Illness" as a noun

According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, “illness” as a noun can have the following definitions:

• Impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism.
• A disease or period of sickness affecting the body or mind.

Synonyms of "Illness" as a noun (13 Words)

affliction	An instance of one celestial body afflicting another. A crippling affliction of the nervous system.
ailment	An illness, typically a minor one. The doctor diagnosed a common stomach ailment.
attack	The act of attacking. Open to attack by the elements.
complaint	(formerly) a loud cry (or repeated cries) of pain or rage or sorrow. She is receiving treatment for her skin complaint.
contagion	A disease spread by close contact. A contagion of mirth.
disability	The condition of being unable to perform as a consequence of physical or mental unfitness. The plaintiff was under a disability.
disease	An impairment of health or a condition of abnormal functioning. We are suffering from the British disease of self deprecation.
disorder	The breakdown of peaceful and law-abiding public behaviour. The files are in complete disorder.
indisposition	Mild illness. She was chiefly confined by indisposition to her bedroom.
infection	The invasion of the body by pathogenic microorganisms and their multiplication which can lead to tissue damage and disease. The infection of his enthusiasm for poetry.
malady	A disease or ailment. An incurable malady.
sickness	The state that precedes vomiting. A great sickness of his judgment.
unwellness	Impairment of normal physiological function affecting part or all of an organism.

Usage Examples of "Illness" as a noun

• I've never missed a day's work through illness.
• He died after a long illness.

Associations of "Illness" (30 Words)

bipolar	Of a person suffering from bipolar disorder. Bipolar species.
blight	Cause to suffer a blight. Her remorse could be a blight on that happiness.
canker	Of a plant or part of a plant become infected with canker. Secondary infections of canker and coccidiosis.
contagious	Easily diffused or spread as from one person to another. It is a relatively new disease and very contagious.
convalescence	Time spent recovering from an illness or medical treatment; recuperation. I had a long convalescence ahead.
debilitating	(of a disease or condition) making someone very weak and infirm. The debilitating effects of underinvestment.
diagnose	Identify the nature of (an illness or other problem) by examination of the symptoms. 20 000 men are diagnosed with skin cancer every year.
disease	A particular quality or disposition regarded as adversely affecting a person or group of people. We are suffering from the British disease of self deprecation.
epidemic	Of the nature of an epidemic. An epidemic of violent crime.
epilepsy	A disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions.
epizootic	An outbreak of an epizootic disease. Epizootic diseases in domestic livestock.
flu	Influenza. She was in bed with flu.
healer	A person or thing that mends or repairs something. Time is the best healer.
hospitalization	Admission to hospital for treatment. He hoped to avoid the expense of hospitalization.
ill	Presaging ill fortune P B Shelley. Ill predictions.
infectious	Of or relating to infection. Fear is exceedingly infectious children catch it from their elders.
insane	Astonishingly good or impressive; amazing. Was declared insane.
osteopath	A therapist who manipulates the skeleton and muscles.
outpatient	A patient who does not reside in the hospital where he is being treated. An outpatient clinic.
pandemic	An outbreak of a pandemic disease. Pandemic fear of nuclear war.
paranoia	A mental condition characterized by delusions of persecution, unwarranted jealousy, or exaggerated self-importance, typically worked into an organized system. It may be an aspect of chronic personality disorder, of drug abuse, or of a serious condition such as schizophrenia in which the person loses touch with reality. Mild paranoia afflicts all prime ministers.
paranoid	A person who is paranoid. You think I m paranoid but I tell you there is something going on.
paroxysm	A sudden uncontrollable attack. Paroxysms of ataxia and shaking.
pestilence	A serious (sometimes fatal) infection of rodents caused by Yersinia pestis and accidentally transmitted to humans by the bite of a flea that has bitten an infected animal. Neither prayers nor demonstrations halted the advance of the pestilence.
pestilential	Likely to spread and cause an epidemic disease- Jonathan Swift. The tsetse flies that are so pestilential in tropical Africa.
psychiatrist	A physician who specializes in psychiatry.
recover	Get or find back recover the use of. Bring the firelock to the recover.
recuperate	Restore to good health or strength. They will seek to recuperate the returns that go with investment.
schizophrenia	A long-term mental disorder of a type involving a breakdown in the relation between thought, emotion, and behaviour, leading to faulty perception, inappropriate actions and feelings, withdrawal from reality and personal relationships into fantasy and delusion, and a sense of mental fragmentation. Gibraltar s schizophrenia continues to be fed by colonial pride.
therapist	A person who treats psychological problems a psychotherapist. Cost is one factor keeping them from the therapist s couch.