ill at ease
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ill
(ĭl)adj. worse (wûrs), worst (wûrst)
1. Not healthy; sick: I began to feel ill last week.
2. Not normal; unsound: an ill condition of body and mind.
3. Resulting in suffering; harmful or distressing: the ill effects of a misconceived policy.
4.
a. Resulting from or suggestive of evil intentions: ill deeds committed out of spite.
b. Ascribing an objectionable quality: holds an ill view of that political group.
c. Hostile or unfriendly: ill feeling between rivals.
d. Harmful; pernicious: the ill effects of a misconceived policy.
5. Not favorable; unpropitious: ill predictions.
6. Not measuring up to recognized standards of excellence, as of behavior or conduct: ill manners.
7. Slang Excellent; outstanding: Your new car is really ill!
adv. worse, worst
1. In a bad, inadequate, or improper way. Often used in combination: My words were ill-chosen.
2. In an unfavorable way; unpropitiously: a statistic that bodes ill for job growth.
3. Scarcely or with difficulty: We can ill afford another mistake.
n.
Idiom: 1. Evil, wrongdoing, or harm: the ill that befell the townspeople.
2. Something that causes suffering; trouble: the social ills of urban life.
3. Something that reflects in an unfavorable way on one: Please don't speak ill of me when I'm gone.
4. (used with a pl. verb) Sick people considered as a group. Often used with the.
ill at ease
Anxious or unsure; uneasy: The stranger made me feel ill at ease.
[Middle English, from Old Norse īllr, bad.]
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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| Adj. | 1. | ill at ease - socially uncomfortable; unsure and constrained in manner; "awkward and reserved at parties"; "ill at ease among eddies of people he didn't know"; "was always uneasy with strangers" uncomfortable - conducive to or feeling mental discomfort; "this kind of life can prove disruptive and uncomfortable"; "the uncomfortable truth"; "grew uncomfortable beneath his appraising eye"; "an uncomfortable way of surprising me just when I felt surest"; "the teacher's presence at the conference made the child very uncomfortable" |
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.
ill at ease
adjective uncomfortable, nervous, tense, strange, wired (slang), disturbed, anxious, awkward, uneasy, unsettled, faltering, unsure, restless, out of place, neurotic, self-conscious, hesitant, disquieted, edgy, on edge, twitchy (informal), on tenterhooks, fidgety, unquiet, like a fish out of water, antsy (informal), unrelaxed, on pins and needles (informal) He seemed ill at ease in my company.
easy, at home, relaxed, comfortable, at ease, settled, quiet
easy, at home, relaxed, comfortable, at ease, settled, quiet
Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002