ill‧ness S3 W3 / ɪlnəs, ɪlnɪs / 名词 [可数和不可数名词]
a disease of the body or mind, or the condition of being ill :
She had all the normal childhood illnesses.
Her mother was recovering from a serious illness.
I’ve never missed a day’s work through illness.
ways to improve your health and reduce the risk of illness
→ disease
COLLOCATIONS
动词
have an illness When did you first find out that you had the illness?
suffer from an illness She suffers from a rare illness.
get/develop an illness She developed the illness when she was in her 50s.
contract an illness formal (= get an illness by catching it from another person ) He contracted the illness while he was working abroad.
recover from an illness It took several months for him to recover from his illness.
be diagnosed with an illness (= be found by doctors to have an illness ) Her husband had just been diagnosed with a terminal illness.
cause/lead to illness Inadequate hygiene can lead to illness.
prevent illness Vaccines have been successful in preventing illness.
ADJECTIVES/NOUN + illness
serious/severe His illness is more severe than the doctors first thought.
minor (= not serious ) He suffered a succession of minor illnesses.
fatal (= causing death quite quickly ) She developed a fatal illness.
life-threatening (= likely to cause death ) Doctors say that his illness isn’t life-threatening.
terminal (= causing death eventually, and not possible to cure ) At that point the illness was thought to be terminal.
incurable (= not possible to cure ) The films tells the sad story of a young boy with an incurable illness.
acute (= becoming serious very quickly ) A lot of illnesses can be either acute or chronic.
chronic (= that lasts a long time, and cannot be cured ) Diabetes is an example of a chronic illness.
a long/short illness She nursed him through his long illness. | Arthur died following a short illness.
a debilitating illness (= that makes you very weak ) His last years were ruined by a debilitating illness.
a childhood illness Measles is a common childhood illness.
a mental/psychiatric illness We provide specialist care for young people with mental illnesses.
短语
the symptoms of an illness Symptoms of the illness include vomiting and severe headaches.
a period of illness He returned to work after a period of illness.
COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ’ a heavy illness ‘. Say a serious illness or a severe illness .
THESAURUS
illness something wrong with your health which makes you feel ill : Her husband was in hospital for six months with a serious illness.
disease a particular illness, especially one that spreads to other people easily or that affects one part of your body : childhood diseases such as measles and chickenpox | heart disease
infection an illness that is caused by bacteria or a virus : His cough got worse and worse and became a chest infection.
condition a health problem that affects you permanently or for a long time : a medical condition such as asthma | a heart condition
problem [名词后通常用] something that is wrong with a particular part of your body or your health in general : a serious back problem | health problems
trouble [单数形式，仅用于名词后] illness or pain that affects a particular part of your body : I’ve had a bit of stomach trouble.
disorder formal an illness that prevents a particular organ of your body from working properly, or affects the way you behave : a liver disorder | a blood disorder | Anorexia nervosa is an eating disorder.
an illness that is not very serious
bug informal an illness that spreads to other people very easily but that is not very serious : There’s a bug going round at school and a lot of the children are absent. | a flu bug
complaint medical an illness that affects a particular part of your body, especially one that is not very serious – used by doctors : a minor skin complaint | Deakin suffers from a back complaint called arachnoiditis.
ailment / eɪlmənt / formal an illness that affects a particular part of your body, especially one that is not serious : People often go to their doctor about relatively minor ailments. | The ointment is used to treat ailments such as small wounds and insect bites.
the general state of being ill
illness the general state of being ill : Stress is emerging today as a major cause of illness.
sickness the state of being ill, especially when it stops you working : absence from work due to sickness
ill health formal the state of being ill, usually for a long period of time : Research shows that there is a link between air pollution and ill health.