695
illusion
feel sick means that one's stomach is upset and one feels
like vomiting (VOMIT), but in the US it may mean that one
is not well, has a sore throat etc. In the US ill is
somewhat more formal than sick.
2 [F] BrE hurt; suffering in the stated way from the effects of
INJURY: A week after the riots, two policemen were still
seriously/critically ill in hospital with gunshot wounds. 3 [A]
bad; harmful: ill luck | an ill omen | There's a lot of ill feeling
(=jealousy, anger etc) about her being promoted.
ill² adv [often in comb.)] 1 badly, cruelly, or unpleasantly: The
child has been ill-treated. 2 not well; not enough; hardly:
ill-suited to the job | ill-informed (=not having the right
information or enough information) | I can ill afford the
time to speak to you. | 'I see one-third of a nation ill-housed,
ill-clad, ill-nourished.' (F. D. Roosevelt) 3 unfavourably: to
think/speak ill of someone | (frm) It ill becomes you to say such
unkind things.
ill³ n [often pl.] a bad thing, especially a problem or cause of
worry: the social ills of unemployment and poverty
I'll /ail/ the short form of 'I will' or 'I shall'
ill-ad'vised adj unwise: They were ill-advised to buy that old
house.
ill-as'sorted adj that do not get on well together; not well
matched: an ill-assorted pair
ill at 'ease adj [F] nervous and uncomfortable, especially
because of lack of social skills: He's always ill at ease at
parties.
ill-'bred adj badly behaved or rude, probably as the result of
being badly brought up as a child: an ill-bred remark |
ill-bred children → opposite WELL-BRED
ill-con'ceived adj not planned well and not having an aim
that is likely to be achieved: The policy was ill-conceived and
wrong-headed.
ill-dis'posed adj unfriendly; unsympathetic: She was ill-
disposed towards the idea of their marriage.
il-le-gal /ɪ'li:gəl/ adj against the law: It's illegal to park your
car here. | an illegal immigrant (=someone who has entered
a country illegally) | It's illegal for people under 17 to drive a
car in Britain. → opposite LEGAL; compare ILLEGITIMATE
—ly adv
il,legal 'alien n AmE an illegal immigrant
il,legal 'immigrant n someone who comes into a country
from abroad to make their home there without official
permission. In many countries it is a crime to be an illegal
immigrant and many governments refuse to let illegal immi-
grants stay in the country.
il-le-gal-i-ty /ˌɪlə'gæləti/ n 1 [U] the state of being ille-
gal 2 [C] an illegal act
il-le-gi-ble /ɪ'ledʒəbəl/ adj difficult or impossible to read,
especially because of extreme untidiness: Can you see what
this note says – his writing is almost illegible! → compare
UNREADABLE —bly adv —bility /ˌɪledʒə'bɪləti/ n [U]
il-le-git-i-mate /ˌɪlɪ'dʒɪtɪmət/ adj 1 born to parents who
are not married 2 not allowed by the rules → compare
ILLEGAL —ly adv —macy n [U]
ill-e'quipped adj not fitted for; unable to provide what is
necessary for doing something: He was ill-equipped for the
journey. | Because of her upbringing, she was ill-equipped to
deal with rejection. → opposite WELL-EQUIPPED
'ill-'fated adj unlucky; bringing misfortune: an ill-fated
attempt that ended in death
ill-'favoured adj lit (of a person) not good-looking, especially
in the face; ugly
ill-'fitting adj (of clothing) not fitting properly or well: Many
children have problems with their feet, caused by ill-fitting
shoes.
ill-'gotten adj obtained by dishonest means (usually in the
phrase ill-gotten gains)
il-lib-e-ral /ɪ'lɪbərəl/ adj 1 not supporting freedom of
expression or of personal behaviour, both of which are
considered good things in western society: illiberal opin-
ions 2 ungenerous —ly adv —ity /ˌɪlɪbə'ræləti/ n [U]
il-li-cit /ɪ'lɪsɪt/ adj (done) against a law or a rule: an illicit act |
illicit trade in drugs —ly adv
,ill-in'formed adj knowing less than you should about a
particular subject: Some employers are ill-informed about
education.
Ill-ing-worth, Ray /'ɪlɪŋwɜːθɪl-wɜːθ/ 1932–) a CRICKETER
born in Yorkshire, England, famous as a SPIN BOWLER
(=bowler in cricket who deliberately makes the ball turn very
quickly so that it is difficult for the opponent to hit) during
the late 1960s and 1970s. He was captain of the England
team from 1969 to 1973.
Il-li-nois /ˌɪlɪ'nɔɪ/ written abbrev. IL a state in the MIDWEST of
the US, known for its farming and industry. Chicago is its
largest city.
il-lit-e-rate /ɪ'lɪtərət/ adj 1 (of a person, especially an adult)
who has not learnt to read or write: (fig.) an illiterate note
(=badly written) 2 infml having little knowledge of art, litera-
ture etc; badly educated → compare PRELITERATE —ly adv
—racy n [U]
,ill-'mannered adj rude; impolite → opposite WELL-
MANNERED
,ill-'natured adj of a bad-tempered character; DISAGREEABLE:
an ill-natured remark → opposite GOOD-NATURED; see
ANGRY (USAGE)
ill-ness /'ɪlnəs/ n [C,U] (a) disease; unhealthy state of the
body or mind: There seems to be a lot of illness in that
family. | physical and mental illness | Tuberculosis is a very
serious illness. → see DISEASE (USAGE)
il-lo-gi-cal /ɪ'lɒdʒɪkəll'lɑː-/ adj 1 going against what is
sensible and reasonable 2 infml (of people, behaviour, or
ideas) going against the principles of LOGIC —ly /kli/ adv
,ill-'omened adj not likely to bring success; ILL-FATED
,ill-pre'pared adj [for] not ready for something: The country
was ill-prepared for war.
,ill-'served adj [F] not helped by something or not repre-
sented well: The north-east of the country is ill-served by the
rail network.
,ill-'starred adj lit unlucky; ILL-FATED
,ill-'suited adj [to] not useful for a particular purpose: a
country ill-suited to wheat farming
,ill-'tempered adj habitually bad-tempered; IRRITABLE → see
ANGRY (USAGE)
,ill-'timed adj (done) at the wrong time; UNTIMELY: an ill-timed
comment that hurt her feelings
,ill-'treat v [T] to be cruel to; MALTREAT: an unhappy, ill-treated
child —ment n [U]
il-lu-mi-nate /ɪ'luːmɪneɪt, ɪ'lju-ɪl'lu-/ v [T] 1 a) to give
light to; fill (especially a room) with light: illuminated by
candles | (fig.) a sudden smile illuminated her face b) to
decorate (buildings, streets etc) with lights for a special
occasion 2 to cause to understand; explain; make clear
il-lu-mi-nat-ed /ɪ'luːmɪneɪtɪd, -'ljuː-ɪl'luː-/ adj illuminated
books and MANUSCRIPTS are decorated by hand with gold
paint and other bright colours, especially in the MIDDLE
AGES: a beautiful illuminated Bible
il-lu-mi-nat-ing /ɪ'lumɪneɪtɪŋ, ɪ'ljuː-ɪl'luː-/ adj that helps
to explain: an illuminating remark, which showed her real
character/made everything clear
il-lu-mi-na-tion /ɪˌluːmɪ'neɪʃən, ɪˌljuː-ɪlluː-/ n 1 [U] the
act of illuminating or state of being illuminated 2 [C usually
pl.] (especially in former times) a picture or decoration
painted on a page of a book 3 [U] the strength of light: The
illumination is too weak to show the detail of the painting.
il-lu-mi-na-tions /ɪˌluːmɪ'neɪʃənz, ɪˌljuː-ɪlˌluː-/ n [P] espe-
cially BrE a show of (coloured) lights used to make a town
bright and colourful: the famous Blackpool illuminations →
compare SON et LUMIÈRE
il-lu-sion /ɪ'luːʒən/ n 1 a false idea, especially about oneself:
[+that] He cherished the illusion that she loved him, but he was
wrong. 2 something seen wrongly, not as it really is: The
mirrors all round the walls give an illusion of greater space. |
The mirrors produce an optical illusion. 3 be under an
illusion to believe wrongly: They were under the illusion that
the company was doing well, but in fact it was in serious
trouble. 4 have no illusions about to be fully conscious of