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April 3, 2011

The difference between "sick" and "ill"

June 23, 2012 04:55 AM UTC

views: 0 | 8 people recommend this | comments: 43

Ok, simple question (or maybe not?).

Do these two words mean the same? Could I both say "I was sick last week" or "I was ill last week" without any difference in the meaning of the sentence?

It never really occured to me until I wrote about being ill (or sick?) with a cold last week.

And if those two meant the same, why are there two different words for the same?

Reminds me of the over 200 different words for rain that the Ferengi (hello Trekkies! *lol*) use.

In German, you are "krank" and that's it...

Your ideas please :-)

Find more about: ill, sick, english, language, question

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8 people recommend this post

Roberta Collins

Holly K.

Cynthia C.

Jean R B.

Diane Huizenga

Elaine S.

Angela H. Jun 23, 2012, 5:35am UTC

The definitions of the two cross paths and are much alike. I think it is a preference. Ill may be the stronger of the two words. Good good question.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 23, 2012, 7:18am UTC

You should read Tiffany's explanation below yours. Illness seems to be worse :-)

reply to this comment

Tiffany v. Jun 23, 2012, 6:53am UTC

According to my Anatomy books, there is not so much a difference the definitions per say. But the way that the 2 words differ is this....

~Sick; any such ailment that can be cured with over OTC medicines or prescriptions or shots.
~Ill/ Illness; any such sickness, disorder, or ailments that require trips to the ER, or over night stays in any ambulatory center or hospital or other healthcare facility. (Not including the Flu unless it is bird/ swine.)

Sorry, but this post really brought out my medical school side. LOL

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 23, 2012, 7:17am UTC

Wow, this is awesome. Thank you :-)
The outcome is surprising...

Krystal Harwell Jul 1, 2012, 12:38pm UTC

wow, i didn't even know that. thanks for sharing! ~PIF

reply to this comment

JOHN BECK Jun 23, 2012, 7:30am UTC

They are generally synonyms. But they can be used differently in common conversation. "Sick" is sometimes used to mean distasteful, such as a "sick joke".

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:06am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Diane Huizenga Jun 23, 2012, 9:02am UTC

Yes they are pretty much the same

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:06am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Elaine S. Jun 23, 2012, 9:06am UTC

According to Tiffany's post I guess MS is an illness,so I guess I'm ill.I know I'm not sick I feel good today.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:06am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Gilbert S. Jun 23, 2012, 9:47am UTC

Thanks for explanations. Useful to one who is not of English language.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:06am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Nancy S. Jun 23, 2012, 10:21am UTC

Sorry Christine our language is so full of slang and multi-meaning words that it's even hard for us to know the correct word for something.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:06am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Jean R B. Jun 23, 2012, 10:32am UTC

There are many different nationalities here. so we have words meaning the same thing.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 5:05am UTC

Sorry, I do not really understand your comment.
I am talking about English here... "sick" and "ill" are both used in American English and British English, so what do different nationalities have to do with this?
Please explain, thank you :-)

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Phill Senters Jun 23, 2012, 11:16am UTC

I'm "sick" with a cold---The way those people act makes me "ill"

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:06am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Plusize Popstar The Original Jun 23, 2012, 11:38am UTC

sick is more temporary

Ill is having an illness, or ailmant for a long period of time

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:06am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

reply to this comment

Nora D. Jun 23, 2012, 11:52am UTC

Actually, they are pretty much the same and are synonyms...........even the doctors have said that they pretty much mean the same thing.........I use them both, depending on the situation. Really never gave much thought to this!
Great question, though!

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:05am UTC

Thanks, the answers are quite interesting :-)

reply to this comment

Karen E. Jun 23, 2012, 6:58pm UTC

Ill seems more permanent or serious...

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:05am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

reply to this comment

Hev L. Jun 23, 2012, 9:48pm UTC

I thought it was the same thing but I guess maybe ill could be a little worse than sick. But that's just a guess

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:05am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

Hev L. Jun 24, 2012, 12:01pm UTC

You're welcome sorry I couldn't be of more help

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Cynthia C. Jun 24, 2012, 8:28am UTC

Thank you for sharing with Sadies Points

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jun 24, 2012, 9:05am UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Sophie S. Jun 24, 2012, 5:03pm UTC

When I hear sick, I think cold, flu what have you. When they say I'll, I think more along the lines of long term illness, whether it be chronic or not.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jul 14, 2012, 12:12pm UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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CL Mareydt Jun 24, 2012, 5:07pm UTC

Good questions ... have enjoyed reading the comments also ... sick or ill it ALL gets the point across :))

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jul 14, 2012, 12:12pm UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Mark Jones Jun 26, 2012, 7:20am UTC

There are idioms where one word is used but not the other. For example, "I am sick to my stomach" is a common way to say "I'm nauseated," but "I am ill to my stomach" will flag the speaker as a person whose English is unusual. I Googled the exact phrase "ill to my stomach": 157,000 hits. The exact phrase "sick to my stomach" gets 11,200,000. That's a 7 to 500 ratio.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jul 14, 2012, 12:11pm UTC

Thanks for stopping by :-)

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Heather E. Jul 10, 2012, 3:37pm UTC

Mark's comment above had come to my mind as well. To me "ill" is more formal. So, Christine, is krank more like sick or ill? Give me 40 July list.

♥ Christine aka stine1 ♥ Jul 14, 2012, 12:11pm UTC

krank means both sick and ill, there are no differences in German between them.

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Roberta Collins Jul 16, 2012, 11:50pm UTC

I guess it depends on who is answering this question, but they are very close to the same if not the same. It implies the same thing, you were not feeling well either way you word it.