illness

fatal, incurable, terminal

debilitating, life-threatening, major, serious, severe

minor

lingering, long, long-standing, long-term, prolonged

brief, short

final, last

acute, chronic

infectious

painful

depressive, mental, psychiatric, psychotic

psychosomatic

physical

respiratory

childhood

bout, episode

She missed two weeks of work after a serious bout of flu.

have, suffer (from)

My grandmother suffered from a serious illness last winter but recovered after several months.

contract, develop, get

After catching a cold at work, she developed a serious illness that kept her in bed for weeks.

diagnose

treat

My doctor prescribed antibiotics to treat my illness after I visited the clinic.

cause

Poor nutrition can cause serious illness in young children.

prevent

Exercise and a healthy diet help prevent serious illness in later life.

recover from

fight (off)

My grandmother managed to fight off a serious illness last winter and recovered completely.

feign

He feigned illness to get out of attending his friend's boring birthday party.

nurse sb through

My mother nursed me through a serious illness last winter.

affect sb

Her serious illness affected her ability to work for several months.

after ~

She felt much stronger after her recent illness and was able to return to work.

because of/due to/through ~

She missed the final exam due to illness and had to retake it in September.

with ~

My grandmother struggled with illness for several years before she recovered.

~ among

Serious respiratory illness among elderly residents forced the hospital to open a new ward.

~ associated with

Several health problems are associated with smoking and poor diet.

~ in

High stress can trigger serious illness in adults who work long hours without breaks.

the onset of illness

The onset of illness forced her to cancel her trip to Europe last month.

a smoking-/Aids-, etc. related illness

My grandfather developed a stress-related illness after working long hours at the factory.