EN

Synonyms for illness

11 synonyms
5 antonyms
1 meaning

noun

Most common

sickness disease malady disorder

All synonyms

Noun

1. Sickness

sickness, disease, malady, disorder, ailment, indisposition, distemper, trouble, complaint, unwellness rare

Other

Antonyms

wellness, well being, well-being

All antonyms of illness →

Definitions

n. 1
An instance (episode) of a disease or poor health.
suffer form a severe illness

Related words

Word family: ill
Phrases: mental illness chronic illness food-derived illness illness anxiety disorder seroconversion illness foodborne illness

Forms

Plural: illnesses → sicknesses, diseases, maladies, disorders…

Choose the right word

Illness, Ailments, Indisposition, Disease or Sickness?

We speak of trifling ailments, a slight indisposition, a serious or a deadly disease; a slight or severe illness; a painful sickness.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

disease Eating healthfully can help prevent heart disease.
disorder Apparently, Leon had some kind of mental disorder.
sickness Her sickness, she is the only one afflicted by it.
malady The doctor said that this malady is untreatable.
pathology Nurse, take this sample to Pathology immediately, please.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
illness		rising
disease		steady
disorder		rising
sickness		steady
malady		steady
pathology		steady

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

6 letters: malady³
7 letters: disease², trouble², ailment²
8 letters: disorder³, sickness²
9 letters: complaint², pathology⁴, distemper³
10 letters: unwellness
13 letters: indisposition

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (malady³ = 3 syllables).

In other languages

Français: maladie
Italiano: malattia
Español: enfermedad
Deutsch: Krankheit
Català: malaltia