illnesses
SayIL-nuh-siz/ˈɪl.nəsɪz/
- 1Plural of illness.
Poor sanitation can spread several serious illnesses through a community.
Researchers are studying how stress contributes to chronic illnesses.
Note
Only one meaning of the singular can take a plural. Illness covers both a single bout of disease, which is countable (a long illness), and the general state of poor health, which is not (illness kept him home). Only the countable meaning pluralizes, so illnesses always means separate cases or kinds, never more of the state itself. The plural adds -es because the singular already ends in -ss.
illnesses is a form of illness
illness, noun: A state of poor health or disease. Full entry
- Forms
- illnessillnesses plural
- Spelling
- illness → illnesses: add -es
- Sound
- The ending sounds like /ɪz/, an extra syllable.
Use it in a sentence
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