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ill

/ɪl/adjective · noun · adverb

Ill can refer to an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining. Ill is also used as adjective or adverb, with meanings including affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function or unfavorably or with disapproval.

9 meanings3 lettersScrabble 3

Length

3

Scrabble

3

WWF

5

Starts

IL

Ends

ILL

Difficulty

Easy

Dictionary

What Does “ILL” Mean?

/ɪl/

ill has 9 documented senses across adjective, noun, adverb.

Adjective

5 senses
1

affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function

ill from the monotony of his suffering

Synonyms

2

resulting in suffering or adversity

ill effects

it's an ill wind that blows no good

3

distressing

ill manners

of ill repute

4

indicating hostility or enmity

you certainly did me an ill turn

ill feelings

ill will

5

presaging ill fortune

ill omens

ill predictions

{'source': 'P.B.Shelley', 'text': 'my words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven'}

a dead and ominous silence prevailed

Noun

1 sense
1

an often persistent bodily disorder or disease; a cause for complaining

Adverb

3 senses
1

(‘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

Synonyms

2

unfavorably or with disapproval

tried not to speak ill of the dead

thought badly of him for his lack of concern

Synonyms

3

with difficulty or inconvenience; scarcely or hardly

we can ill afford to buy a new car just now

Scrabble Score

3

Letters

3

Vowels

1

Consonants

2

Word Intelligence

Explore the word ill with its definition, score, letter pattern, and useful word game details.

Definition

affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function

Length

3 letters

Starts With

I

Ends With

L

Vowels

1

Consonants

2

Letters

I, L, L

Use Case

Useful for Scrabble, Wordle, crosswords, anagrams, and other word games.

Letter Breakdown

i
l
l

Word Facts

Key letter, score, and pattern facts for ill.

ILL is a 3-letter word.
It has a Scrabble score of 3.
It starts with I and ends with L.
It contains 1 vowel and 2 consonants.
Its vowel share is about 33%.
It has 1 repeated letter.
It is not a palindrome.
Letter pattern: ABB.
Vowel/consonant pattern: VCC.

Word Strategy

Strategy notes for using ill in Scrabble, Wordle-style games, crosswords, and anagram solving.

Scrabble Strategy

★☆☆☆☆

ILL has a Scrabble score of 3. It is useful for balancing a rack and building steady board position.

Wordle Strategy

★★☆☆☆

ILL is not five letters, so it is not a standard Wordle answer, but its letter pattern can still help with word analysis.

Crossword Strategy

★★★★☆

ILL can be useful in crossword solving because it has a clear starting letter, ending letter, and 3-letter structure.

Anagram Strategy

★★★☆☆

ILL contains repeated letters, which can make anagram solving more constrained but also easier to pattern-match.

Letter Intelligence

A deeper look at the letter structure, patterns, and useful game signals inside ill.

Unique Letters

2

Repeated Letters

1

Highest Value Letter

I

Letter Pattern

ABB

CV Pattern

VCC

Vowel Share

33%

Consonant Share

67%

Bigrams

IL, LL

Trigrams

ILL

Crossword Intelligence

Crossword-style clues, crossing help, and pattern notes for ill.

ILL is a 3-letter short fill.
It starts with I and ends with L, which helps narrow crossword crossings.
It contains 1 vowel and 2 consonants.
Its vowel/consonant pattern is VCC.
Crossword difficulty estimate: Easy.

Related Words

Word Usage Insights

Practical observations about how this word performs in different word games and puzzle situations.

This word contains 3 letters and is suitable for medium-length word games.
Its consonant/vowel pattern is VCC, making it relatively challenging to recognize.
With a Scrabble score of 3, it offers moderate scoring potential.
The word begins with I and ends with L, making it useful for solving pattern-based puzzles.
Some letters repeat, which can be useful when identifying anagrams.

Word Intelligence Links

Explore word lists connected to ILL by length, score, vowels, consonants, starting letters, ending letters, and word game tools.

Word Family

Explore words that share a similar beginning or root pattern with ill.

Related Word Tools

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