ill / sick Sick is the less formal word, and it usually describes a more temporary health
problem – often nausea, although not always.
If you’re feeling sick, you might need to vomit.
If you get the flu, you might be sick for two weeks.
If a child is sick, he stays home from school that day.
Taking a day off from work for health reasons is called “taking a sick day.”
Ill is the more formal word, and it usually describes a more serious, more
permanent health problem, like cancer.
My uncle has been ill for the past five years.
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She passed away (=died) after a long illness.
Someone with a mental health problem is mentally ill.
A disease that will definitely result in death is a terminal illness.