# Sickness, Disease, Illness



## yecido

CAN ANYBODY explain the difference among these terms with soem examples, my students are crazy to know.

Thanx


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## Akialuz

Merriam Webster says:
*sick·ness* *1 a* *:* ill health 
*b* *:* a disordered, weakened, or unsound condition
*2* *:* a specific disease
*3* *: *nausea; queasiness
*dis·ease* 
*2* *:* a condition of the living animal or plant body or of one of its parts that impairs normal functioning and is typically manifested by distinguishing signs and symptoms 
*ill·ness* 
*2 a* *:* an unhealthy condition of body or mind 
*b* *: *SICKNESS
~Akialuz
sorry i am out of examples.


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## swyves

One example comes to mind: "altitude sickness" is a term that refers to severe medical complications associated with high altitude, whereas "altitude illness" refers to the general feeling of headache and malaise that almost everyone gets for their first few days at altitude.
Shall repost by editing this as I think of any more...


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## swyves

I'd go along with Cuchuflete, in as much as one could say "what disease have you got" but not "what illness have you got". So, illness is "being ill" and disease is also the particular thing that you have, such as chicken pox or a cold. But it's not as clear cut as that.


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## cj427

This may or may not be helpful, but it's easier to distinguish them in the adjective form.

To me, "sick" sounds less serious than "ill".  I'd say "I'm sick" if I had a cold, or a sore throat, or the flu.  "I'm ill", on the other hand, makes it sound like I've got a chronic, life-threatening disease.  "Sick" also sounds less formal than "ill".

"Diseased" has a very negative connotation.  I'd never say that I was diseased, nor would I say it about any other person.  It sounds like something a not-very-nice person would say about a prostitute, or an abandoned animal.


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## swyves

That's a very good way of looking at it, but I'm not sure that the adjectival forms correspond perfectly with the nouns here. I'm totally with you about "diseased" being an unpleasant term, but I wouldn't hesitate to say that I have (or my friend has) a disease. In this case, it would be more natural in terms of "I have kidney disease" or "I have lung disease". One wouldn't talk about "kidney illness" or "lung illness".


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## JamesM

This Wikipedia article draws interesting distinctions ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disease ). Here's a slightly edited and re-formatted version of its contents:

*-* Disease* can be thought of as the presence of pathology, which can occur with or without subjective feelings of being unwell or social recognition of that state 

*- *Illness* (is) the subjective state of "unwellness", which can occur independently of, or in conjunction with disease or sickness

*- *Sickness *(is) the social classification of someone deemed diseased, which can also occur independently of the presence or absence of disease or illness. 

So someone with undetected high blood pressure who feels well would be diseased, but not ill or sick. 

Someone with a diagnosis of late-stage cancer would be diseased, probably feeling quite ill, and recognized by others as sick. 

A person incarcerated in a totalitarian psychiatric hospital for political purposes could arguably be then said to not be diseased, nor ill, but only classified as sick by the rulers of a society with which the person did not agree. 

Having had a bad day after a night of excess, one might feel ill, but you would not be diseased, nor is it likely you could convince your boss to recognize you as sick.


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## virr2

I would also say that *disease *often has a medical name, e.g. Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, lung disease and often implies serious, medical condition. 
To be *sick* doesn't often (nowadays) suggest any health problem - it suggests that you feel unwell because, for instance, you've eaten too much or something bad.

Virr


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## cheshire

(1) a neighbor's *sick* child
(2) the *ill* and needy​Do you think "sick" and "ill" are interchangeable?


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## Siberia

I think they are today. In the past the use of "sick" for "ill" was more AE than BE. 
You still hear, however, the expression: I was sick after drinking last night. - in the sense of nausea etc. But even that is a way of being "ill".


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## pyan

There is "poorly" as well, more informal.  "I felt poorly this morning after drinking last night."


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## Ms Missy

They're interchangeable except in a very few instances.

1.  He fell ill during the flight home. (Not he fell sick).
2.  Anyone who abuses a child, has to be sick!  (mental)
3.  I'm sick of her constant complaints.
4.  I felt sick to my stomach. 
5.  He's ill at ease with his mother-in-law.

I'm sure there's more, but that's all I can think of for now.


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## cheshire

> 1. He fell ill during the flight home. (Not he fell sick).


Wonderful responses! 
Why can't we use "fall sick" in your sentence 1?


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## Ms Missy

cheshire said:


> Wonderful responses!
> Why can't we use "fall sick" in your sentence 1?


 
I don't know that there's a specific rule on that (probably not), it's just that it's not common in my neck of the woods.  I've heard some people even say, "He _took_ sick in the middle of the night ..." but I've never heard "he took ill."  It's probably just a play on words.  My personal opinion is that "ill" is more formal, or professional, whereas "sick" is more in common usage. (On forms that I've had to fill out in order to justify taking a "sick day" from work, the form always says to "state the nature of the illness."  It's the same way with insurance applications that want to know of any "pre-existing illnesses."

It never says to state the nature of the sickness, so that's what has led me to feel that "ill/illness" is more formal.  But of course, that's just a personal opinion.


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## JamesM

I'm sure I've read a thread before on this, but I can't find it.  If I recall correctly, "sick" was a sensation felt by the individual that may or may not be caused by illness: "sea sickness", "motion sickness", "space sickness".  Illness is an externally verifiable abnormal state of the body, as I understand it.


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## pyan

I expected the answer to be “no” they are not interchangeable,and for someone to come up with some authoritative definitions before now, but it looks as if it could be BE/AE, local and personal usage. 
 
My personal usage:
To feel or be sick and to feel or be ill are usually interchangeable.  Exceptions are nausea and vomiting, which is always feeling or being “sick” and long term illness which is always being “ill.” 
 
The sick, the ill as nouns – mainly interchangeable.  The ill sounds more long-term. 

I had not thought about "illness" having a meaning of being externally verifiable as suggested by JamesM.


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## JamesM

Aha! I found the thread:

< --- > 

I had it backwards, at least in comparison to the Wikipedia definitions cited. I most commonly hear them used the other way around, though; "sick" is a personal feeling, and "ill" is an outwardly verifiable condition.

<<Thanks, JamesM.
I have merged the two threads now.
Panj>>


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## kurumin

I believe sickness and illness are more used in informal speech,
whILE disease is preferred in more formal styles.


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## JamesM

kurumin said:


> I believe sickness and illness are more used in informal speech,
> whILE disease is preferred in more formal styles.


 
The Wikipedia article makes an interesting distinction.  A person can be suffering from a disease with little or no symptoms of the disease and no illness.  Heart disease is a good example; hypertension (high blood pressure) is another.

I do think there's a difference, more than formal vs. informal.


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## gaer

cheshire said:


> (1) a neighbor's *sick* child​
> (2) the *ill* and needy​Do you think "sick" and "ill" are interchangeable?


The short answer is:

sometimes yes, sometimes no.

Let's concentrate on the differences:

1) UK, informal: "a pool of sick on the floor" (sick=vomit)
2) sick day (not ill)
3) sick leave/pay (not ill)
4) sick at heart (not ill)
5) sick to your stomach (not ill)
6) sick as a dog (not ill)

1) ill-bred, ill-equipped, ill-advised, etc. (not sick)
2) bear someone ill will (not sick)
3) "It's an ill wind that blows no good" (not sick)
4) be ill at ease (not sick)

When sick=nauseated, both "ill" and "sick" are used.

Gaer


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## pyan

kurumin said:


> I believe sickness and illness are more used in informal speech,
> whILE disease is preferred in more formal styles.


 
Yes, you are right.  These terms are used in informal speech.  They are also used in formal document in British English as are "sick" and "ill".

Both "sick" and "ill" are used in compound forms which makes things more difficult.  Cheshire did not ask about these.  (But I think a lot of us would like it if he did.)

Cheshire asked the question about the common, often informal, use of "sick" and "ill".  "Disease", "infection" and other terms are well defined.


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## --Monty---

I think it does vary to some extent whether you're BE or AE.

For example if your friend phoned you:
"Why are you not at work today?"
In BE, I'd answer "I'm ill", "I'm unwell" or "I'm not feeling very well", but never just "I'm sick". I think "I'm sick" would be used more in AE.


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## jokaec

[This post and the following ones have been added to a previous thread covering the same topic.  Please read down from the top.  _However, please also be aware that the original question is from the early days of the forum and is of a type and format which would no longer now be classed as allowable._  DonnyB - moderator]

Tom: I haven’t seen your sister for a long time.
Dick: She is sick.
Tom: Oh, may I know what’s the “sickness” or “illness” with her?
Dick: She has a breast cancer. She just did surgery and is receiving chemotherapy.
Tom: I’m so sorry to hear that.

Are they both correct in this situation? If so, what’s the difference in AmE and which is better in this situation? Thank you!


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## owlman5

"Illness" seems a little more likely in American English, jokaec.  "Sickness" is possible and has roughly the same meaning, but "illness" is probably more common in references to some unknown illness.


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## lingobingo

Some of that dialogue is totally unnatural, including “Oh, may I know what’s the sickness/illness with her?”. Nobody speaks like that. The normal way to say it is simply “Oh no! What’s wrong with her?”.

But there is a difference in usage of the adjectives, in that in British English we’d describe someone as being *ill* whereas in American English they’d be described as being *sick*. When it comes to the noun, though, I think a disease or medical condition would in most circumstances be called an illness rather than a sickness in both BE and AE.


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## jokaec

lingobingo said:


> But there is a difference in usage of the adjectives, in that in British English we’d describe someone as being *ill* whereas in American English they’d be described as being *sick*. When it comes to the noun, though, I think a disease or medical condition would in most circumstances be called an illness rather than a sickness in both BE and AE.


Thank you owlman5 and lingobingo. I like the explanation above. But, I did see a American doctor wrote his notes with “sickness”, such as “Please excuse someone from work because of his sickness”.


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## lingobingo

In that context it could just mean his being ill/being sick — rather than referring to a specific condition?


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## owlman5

That sounds likely, lingobingo.  It's pretty hard for me to imagine an American doctor who would deliberately use "sickness" rather than "illness" in that note to refer to some identifiable illness with a name.


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## lingobingo




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## LVRBC

jokaec said:


> Thank you owlman5 and lingobingo. I like the explanation above. But, I did see a American doctor wrote his notes with “sickness”, such as “Please excuse someone from work because of his sickness”.


I find this very improbable as a physician's note, unless that physician is not a native speaker of English.


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## hwit

I've always thought of illness as something more serious or long term, like cancer, whereas sickness is something less serious and short term and can easily spread from person like a cold or the flu. I can imagine someone talking about sickness spreading through a school or office, but not illness. 

Maybe it's regional? Does anyone else understand these terms this way?


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## owlman5

I think I have roughly the same understanding of "sickness" and "illness" that you do, hwit. I have a lot of southern relatives, but I have never lived for extended periods of time in the southeastern U.S.  I suspect that your associations with the words are not regional ones.

To tell you the truth, I really don't hear "sickness" much at all.  I probably hear it in the term "morning sickness" more often than anywhere else.  "Altitude sickness" shows up in language about height, mountaineering, and aviation.  "Radiation sickness" also comes to mind as a specific type of malady.

"It's a sickness/an illness with him"  -- I think "sickness" and "illness" sound about equally likely in figurative references to obsessions, etc. in people.

At the moment, I can't think of any other typical uses for "sickness" in specific phrases.  Have you heard some different ones?


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## hwit

I only other one I can think of right now is motion sickness. I am sure there are more, though. 

Sickness is definitely not very common outside of these collocations, but I have heard it used generally. For example, "There's a lot of sickness going around this year! My whole family has already already had colds and I've had the flu!"


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## owlman5

I don't think I hear "sickness" commonly used this way in my neck of the woods.  But I may have heard it used more often than I think I have...  It certainly sounds normal to me, but not particularly familiar.


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## jokaec

hwit said:


> I've always thought of illness as something more serious or long term, like cancer, whereas sickness is something less serious and short term and can easily spread from person like a cold or the flu. I can imagine someone talking about sickness spreading through a school or office, but not illness.
> 
> Maybe it's regional? Does anyone else understand these terms this way?


Is it possible the doctor gave notes with “sickness” only to the people who had cold or flu? If the doctor gives the notes to those who have serious illness, he will use “illness” in notes.


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## lingobingo

Note that “Please excuse someone from work because of his sickness” is not how anyone would normally write this sort of note (which in the UK used to be called a “sick note” but is now officially a “statement of fitness to work”). Instead, they would specify what the medical condition was. 

And if you were telling someone that a colleague was not at work today due to illness, you’d say “He’s off sick today”, or “He’s called in sick”.


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## Myridon

lingobingo said:


> Note that “Please excuse someone from work because of his sickness” i


If I did see that, I'd assume that "his sickness" means level of disability not type of illness, i.e. it means "Please excuse John from work because he is too sick to work." not "Please excuse John from work because he has an illness."


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## zaffy

I watched a video about possible issues plants can struggle with, and they used "disease". So when talking about plants, we talk about 'diseases' not 'illnesses', right?


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## heypresto

zaffy said:


> So when talking about plants, we talk about 'diseases' not 'illnesses', right?


 Right.

Common Diseases In The Vegetable Garden & How to Treat Them
Preventing Fruit Tree Diseases – What Are Common Fruit Tree Diseases


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## zaffy

So what might the reason why we talk about 'diseases' when talking about plants, however serious or minor they are, whereas we talk about 'diseases' and 'illnesses' in humans, clearly dividing them into those more serious or minor? There seems to be some logic problem. Or is it just me?


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## heypresto

It's just you. 

from the WR Dictionary:

*Plant Disease* any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites, unfavorable environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc.


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## zaffy

And how would it sound if I said some plant was suffering from some illness? Completely off? Would I personify it?


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## heypresto

Yes, you'd sound like you thought of the plant as a child or other person you care for. And a bit eccentric, or just plain weird. 

Stick to 'disease'.


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## zaffy

If the nerves don't work properly in my palm and I can't tighten the fist, would it be a disease or an illness? 

A: 'Is there any cure for your illness/disease, Tom?'
B: Not really, no. It'll just stay with me forever.


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## heypresto

I'm not an expert obviously but I'd say it could be a systemic neurological disease. If it is, I doubt if anybody would call it an illness. It might also be called a 'condition', or a 'complaint', depending on exactly what the problem was.

I'm sure you will get a better, more informed, answer at a medical site.


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## zaffy

heypresto said:


> I'm sure you will get a better, more informed, answer at a medical site.



It wasn't my intention  to get a professional answer. I'm interested in everyday language; two friends talking who also have no idea about medical stuff. Would they be talking  about an illness or disease?


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## heypresto

More likely a 'condition.'

Whatever, certainly not an illness.


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## jokaec

What's the difference between the "illness" or "sickness" caused by covid19 and regular flu?

Are they both correct in American English? If so, which is better in this situation? Thank you!


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## lingobingo

What situation? You seem to be talking about the *symptoms* of both conditions?


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## jokaec

lingobingo said:


> What situation? You seem to be talking about the *symptoms* of both conditions?


It could be the difference of symptoms. If I talk about symptoms, what's the difference between "illness" and "sickness" in my previous sentence?


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## lingobingo

I can’t speak for American English, which usually uses *sick* where British English uses *ill*.

So in BE, *illness* and *sickness* can both just mean the fact of being sick/ill/unwell. Or an *illness* can imply a particular disease. And *sickness* can also mean being physically sick in the sense of vomiting (being sick).


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## Andygc

jokaec said:


> What's the difference between the "illness" or "sickness" caused by covid19 and regular flu?


Are you asking which sentence to use?

1. What's the difference between the illness caused by covid19 and regular flu?
2. What's the difference between the sickness caused by covid19 and regular flu?

In BE it would be 1, although we don't have "regular" flu.

3. What's the difference between the illness caused by covid19 and normal flu?

I cannot answer for AE.


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## Roxxxannne

If the sentence were
'What's the difference between the ________ caused by covid19 and regular flu?'
and Americans were called upon to fill in either 'illness' or 'sickness,' I think more people would choose 'sickness' than 'illness' but a sizable minority would choose 'illness.'
I'd expect, though, that ordinary, non-medical experts would say 'What's the difference between Covid symptoms and flu symptoms?' or just 'What's the difference between Covid and the flu?'

'Regular flu' sounds odd here to me also.  It implies that Covid, in contrast, is an irregular flu.  I can imagine, though, '... the illness/sickness caused by covid and the yearly flu.'


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