Ill and sick are both used for saying that someone has a disease or some other problem with their health. You can use either ill or sick after a linking verb.
You usually use sick, rather than 'ill', in front of a noun.
However, you often use ill in front of a noun when you are also using an adverb such as seriously, chronically, or terminally.
Be Careful!
The usual comparative form of ill is worse.
To be sick means to bring up food from your stomach.
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Don't use 'ill' or 'sick' to say that someone has received an injury. Say that they are injured or hurt.
A sick person has an illness or some other problem with their health.
In British English, to be sick usually means to bring up food through your mouth from your stomach.
In American English, to be sick means to be ill.
Be Careful!
Be sick meaning 'be ill' cannot be used in progressive forms. 'George is being sick' means 'George is bringing up food from his stomach'.
If you vomit, you bring up food through your mouth from your stomach. Vomit is a fairly formal word.
In conversation, some people say throw up instead of 'be sick'.
In British English, to feel sick means to feel that you want to vomit.
In American English, if someone feels sick, they feel ill.
| Imperative |
|---|
| sick |
| sick |
| Noun | 1. | sick - people who are sick; "they devote their lives to caring for the sick"people - (plural) any group of human beings (men or women or children) collectively; "old people"; "there were at least 200 people in the audience" |
| Verb | 1. | sick - eject the contents of the stomach through the mouth; "After drinking too much, the students vomited"; "He purged continuously"; "The patient regurgitated the food we gave him last night" |
| Adj. | 1. | sick - affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function; "ill from the monotony of his suffering" unfit - not in good physical or mental condition; out of condition; "fat and very unfit"; "certified as unfit for army service"; "drunk and unfit for service" unhealthy - not in or exhibiting good health in body or mind; "unhealthy ulcers" |
| 2. | sick - feeling nausea; feeling about to vomit | |
| 3. | sick - affected with madness or insanity; "a man who had gone mad"insane - afflicted with or characteristic of mental derangement; "was declared insane"; "insane laughter" | |
| 4. | sick - having a strong distaste from surfeit; "grew more and more disgusted"; "fed up with their complaints"; "sick of it all"; "sick to death of flattery"; "gossip that makes one sick"; "tired of the noise and smoke"displeased - not pleased; experiencing or manifesting displeasure | |
| 5. | sick - (of light) lacking in intensity or brightness; dim or feeble; "the pale light of a half moon"; "a pale sun"; "the late afternoon light coming through the el tracks fell in pale oblongs on the street"; "a pallid sky"; "the pale (or wan) stars"; "the wan light of dawn" weak - wanting in physical strength; "a weak pillar" | |
| 6. | sick - deeply affected by a strong feeling; "sat completely still, sick with envy"; "she was sick with longing" | |
| 7. | sick - shockingly repellent; inspiring horror; "ghastly wounds"; "the grim aftermath of the bombing"; "the grim task of burying the victims"; "a grisly murder"; "gruesome evidence of human sacrifice"; "macabre tales of war and plague in the Middle ages"; "macabre tortures conceived by madmen"alarming - frightening because of an awareness of danger |