Ill (Adverb)
Meaning 1
With difficulty or inconvenience; scarcely or hardly; "we can ill afford to buy a new car just now".
Examples
- She could ill afford the time off from work to go on the trip with her friends.
- With our limited funds we can ill afford such extravagances at the moment.
- It was obvious they could ill afford the payment after seeing the final cost of repairs.
- I could ill remember anything she told me when we were last in class.
- Their injured quarterback can ill afford another lost season from injuries and physical struggles.
Meaning 2
Unfavorably or with disapproval; "tried not to speak ill of the dead"; "thought badly of him for his lack of concern".
Examples
- She did not speak ill of her cheating ex-husband even after their divorce.
- People thought ill of him for leaving his family in their time of need.
- His friends did not speak ill of the cheating politician, not even after his scandal.
- It's hard not to speak ill of someone who treated you so poorly in the past.
- The deceased may have had their flaws but nobody spoke ill of them during the eulogy.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Meaning 3
(`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well; "he was ill prepared"; "it ill befits a man to betray old friends"; "the car runs badly"; "he performed badly on the exam"; "the team played poorly"; "ill-fitting clothes"; "an ill-conceived plan".
Examples
- She sings badly in the school choir but they let her join anyway for the sake of participation.
- The team played extremely poorly last season due to the new coach who didn't understand their strengths.
- His behavior ill befits the professional status he claims to represent in this company.
- It ill suits her current financial situation to be spending extravagantly on luxury goods.
- She always travels badly with her luggage often getting delayed or lost in transit.