adjective + illness : chronic, debilitating, life-threatening, terminal; long, short; depressive, psychiatric, stress-related
verb + illness : contract, suffer; cure, diagnose, treat; prevent
il|logi|cal / I lɒ dʒ I k ə l/ ADJ If you describe an action, feeling, or belief as illogical , you are critical of it because you think that it does not result from a logical and ordered way of thinking. [DISAPPROVAL ] □ It is illogical to oppose the repatriation of economic migrants. ● il|logi|cal|ly / I lɒ dʒ I kli/ ADV □ Illogically, I felt guilty.
i ll-prepa red ADJ [usu v-link ADJ , ADJ to-inf] If you are ill-prepared for something, you have not made the correct preparations for it, for example because you are not expecting it to happen. □ [+ for ] The government was ill-prepared for the problems it now faces.
i ll-sta rred ADJ [usu ADJ n] If you describe something or someone as ill-starred , you mean that they were unlucky or unsuccessful. [LITERARY ] □ …an ill-starred attempt to create jobs in Northern Ireland.
i ll-te mpered ADJ If you describe someone as ill-tempered , you mean they are angry or hostile, and you may be implying that this is unreasonable. [FORMAL ] □ It was a day of tense and often ill-tempered debate.
i ll-ti med ADJ If you describe something as ill-timed , you mean that it happens or is done at the wrong time, so that it is damaging or rude. □ He argued that the tax cut was ill-timed.
i ll-trea t (ill-treats , ill-treating , ill-treated ) VERB If someone ill-treats you, they treat you badly or cruelly. □ [V n] They thought Mr Smith had been ill-treating his wife.
i ll-trea tment N‑UNCOUNT Ill-treatment is harsh or cruel treatment. □ [+ of ] Ill-treatment of animals remains commonplace.
il|lu|mi|nate / I luː m I ne I t/ (illuminates , illuminating , illuminated )
1 VERB To illuminate something means to shine light on it and to make it brighter and more visible. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] No streetlights illuminated the street.
2 VERB If you illuminate something that is unclear or difficult to understand, you make it clearer by explaining it carefully or giving information about it. [FORMAL ] □ [V n] They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject. ● il|lu|mi|nat|ing ADJ □ His autobiography provides an illuminating insight into his mind.
il|lu|mi|nat|ed / I luː m I ne I t I d/ ADJ Something that is illuminated is lit up, usually by electric lighting. □ …an illuminated sign.
il|lu|mi|na|tion / I luː m I ne I ʃ ə n/ (illuminations )
1 N‑UNCOUNT Illumination is the lighting that a place has. [FORMAL ] □ The only illumination came from a small window high in the opposite wall.
2 N‑PLURAL Illuminations are coloured lights which are put up in towns, especially at Christmas, in order to make them look attractive, especially at night. [mainly BRIT ] □ …the famous Blackpool illuminations.
il|lu|mine / I luː m I n/ (illumines , illumining , illumined ) VERB To illumine something means the same as to illuminate it. [LITERARY ] □ [V n] The interchange of ideas illumines the debate. □ [be V -ed] By night, the perimeter wire was illumined by lights.
il|lu|sion / I luː ʒ ə n/ (illusions )
1 N‑VAR [oft N that] An illusion is a false idea or belief. □ [+ about ] No one really has any illusions about winning the war.
2 N‑COUNT An illusion is something that appears to exist or be a particular thing but does not actually exist or is in reality something else. □ [+ of ] Floor-to-ceiling windows can give the illusion of extra height.
il|lu|sion|ist / I luː ʒən I st/ (illusionists ) N‑COUNT An illusionist is a performer who makes it seem that strange or impossible things are happening, for example that a person has disappeared or been cut in half.
il|lu|so|ry / I luː zəri, -səri/ ADJ If you describe something as illusory , you mean that although it seems true or possible, it is in fact false or impossible. □ His freedom is illusory.
il|lus|trate ◆◇◇ / I ləstre I t/ (illustrates , illustrating , illustrated )
1 VERB If you say that something illustrates a situation that you are drawing attention to, you mean that it shows that the situation exists. □ [V n] The example of the United States illustrates this point. □ [V wh] The incident graphically illustrates how parlous their position is. □ [V that] The case also illustrates that some women are now trying to fight back.
2 VERB If you use an example, story, or diagram to illustrate a point, you use it show that what you are saying is true or to make your meaning clearer. □ [V n] Let me give another example to illustrate this difficult point. □ [V n + with ] Throughout, she illustrates her analysis with excerpts from discussions. ● il|lus|tra|tion / I ləstre I ʃ ə n/ N‑UNCOUNT □ Here, by way of illustration, are some extracts from our new catalogue.
3 VERB If you illustrate a book, you put pictures, photographs or diagrams into it. □ [V n] She went on to art school and is now illustrating a book. □ [V n + with ] He has illustrated the book with black-and-white photographs. ● il|lus|trat|ed ADJ □ The book is beautifully illustrated throughout. ● il|lus|tra|tion N‑UNCOUNT □ …the world of children's book illustration. SYNONYMS illustrate VERB 1
demonstrate: The study also demonstrated a direct link between obesity and mortality.
show: Research shows that a high-fibre diet may protect you from bowel cancer.