- (a) short illness
- see a long illness
How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms. R. W. Holder. 2014.
(a) short illness
Look at other dictionaries:
illness — ill|ness W3S2 [ˈılnıs] n [U and C] a disease of the body or mind, or the condition of being ill ▪ She had all the normal childhood illnesses . ▪ I d been told I d been suffering from various illnesses . ▪ Her mother was just recovering from an… … Dictionary of contemporary English
illness - disease — ◊ illness If you have an illness, there is something wrong with your health, so that you cannot work or live normally. An illness can affect several parts of your body. It can last for a long time or a short time, and its effects can be serious… … Useful english dictionary
Illness — Ill ness, n. [From {Ill}.] 1. The condition of being ill, evil, or bad; badness; unfavorableness. [Obs.] The illness of the weather. Locke. [1913 Webster] 2. Disease; indisposition; malady; disorder of health; sickness; as, a short or a severe… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
short shrift — n. 1) Summary, careless treatment; scant attention: »These annoying memos will get short shrift from the boss. 2) Quick work. 3) a) A short respite, as from death. b) The brief time before execution granted a condemned prisoner for confession and … Word Histories
illness — noun ADJECTIVE ▪ deadly, fatal, incurable, terminal ▪ catastrophic (AmE, law), critical, dangerous, debilitating, devastating … Collocations dictionary
illness*/*/*/ — [ˈɪlnəs] noun 1) [U] the state of feeling ill or having a disease He missed five days of school because of illness.[/ex] 2) [C] a particular disease, or a period of being ill a serious illness[/ex] • Other ways of saying illness ■ bug (informal)… … Dictionary for writing and speaking English
short — I [[t]ʃɔ͟ː(r)t[/t]] ADJECTIVE AND ADVERB USES ♦ shorter, shortest (Please look at category 24 to see if the expression you are looking for is shown under another headword.) 1) ADJ GRADED If something is short or lasts for a short time, it does… … English dictionary
short — {{Roman}}I.{{/Roman}} adj. 1 not measuring much from one end to the other VERBS ▪ be, look, seem ADVERB ▪ extremely, fairly, very, etc … Collocations dictionary
Illness, acute — An illness with an abrupt onset and usually a short course … Medical dictionary
a long illness — American cancer The language of the obituary notice. A short illness may indicate suicide … How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms
