highly ill

USAGE SUMMARY

The phrase "highly ill" is not commonly used in written English and may sound awkward.
It could be used to emphasize the severity of someone's illness, but it is more typical to use "very ill" or "seriously ill." Example: "After the diagnosis, she was found to be highly ill and required immediate medical attention."

Science

News & Media

Formal & Business

Human-verified examples from authoritative sources

Exact Expressions

3 human-written examples

The Jacobian matrix at the steady state is highly ill conditioned, with some eigenvalues very close to the imaginary axis.

Chemical Engineering Science

Furthermore, as blind restoration problems are intrinsically highly ill posed, stable solutions have been obtained mostly using some prior information about the kernel, adapting the problem solution to particular situations.

EURASIP Journal on Advances in Signal Processing

The PATRON07-study to establish CNI-free- bottom-up" strategies in LT reCNI-free- bottom-up impairment prior to LT aims at minimizing IS in a "bottom-up" approaCNI-free- bottom-uplassiCNI-free- bottom-uptegiestrategiest inprovement of renaLTimpairecipientsinfectious complications in a specific group of highly ill liver allograft recipients.

BMC Nephrology

Human-verified similar examples from authoritative sources

Similar Expressions

57 human-written examples

President Bush insists on a highly ill-advised reduction in the tax rate on capital gains.

The New York Times

The linear model of AHWR, obtained by linearizing the nonlinear equations is found to be highly ill-conditioned.

Annals of Nuclear Energy

The system matrix is usually singular and highly ill-conditioned due to large powers of polynomial basis functions.

Applied Mathematical Modelling

However, the most straightforward way to calculate the weights (RBF-Direct) becomes then numerically highly ill-conditioned.

Computers & Mathematics with Applications

Miss Prasad is surely likely to do something highly ill-advised, if the once-beardy teacher man doesn't do it first.

The Guardian - TV & Radio

I am not a climate scientist and the mapping between carbon emissions and temperatures itself is highly ill-defined and uncertain thing.

The Guardian - Business

Upon cold drawing, the three techniques supported a disruption of the crystalline morphology towards a highly ill-defined and fractured orthorhombic crystalline phase.

Polymer

Such features require very fine discretizations, even with the use of adaptive gridding, and cause the linear systems which arise to be highly ill-conditioned.

Journal of Computational Physics

Expert writing Tips

Best practice

Consider stronger alternatives like "seriously ill" or "critically ill" for greater impact and clarity.

Common error

Avoid using "highly ill" in informal contexts. Opt for more natural phrases like "very sick" or "unwell" in casual conversation.

Linguistic Context

The phrase "highly ill" functions as a descriptive adjective phrase, modifying a noun to indicate a severe state of sickness. This usage is less frequent than alternatives, as suggested by Ludwig.

Expression frequency: Rare

Frequent in

Science

66%

News & Media

22%

Formal & Business

12%

Less common in

Wiki

0%

Encyclopedias

0%

Reference

0%

Ludwig's WRAP-UP

The phrase "highly ill" describes a severe state of sickness, but is less common than alternatives such as "seriously ill" or "critically ill". Ludwig AI analysis suggests that while grammatically acceptable, it can sound awkward or overly formal in certain contexts. Usage is primarily found in science and news media. When choosing a phrase, consider your audience and the level of formality required. Stronger, more direct alternatives will often provide greater clarity and impact.

More alternative expressions

Phrases that express similar concepts, ordered by semantic similarity:

seriously ill

Indicates a severe state of sickness, emphasizing the gravity of the condition.

gravely ill

Suggests a life-threatening condition, adding a sense of urgency and concern.

critically ill

Specifies that the illness requires intensive medical care and monitoring.

very sick

A more common and informal way to express that someone is unwell.

extremely unwell

A formal way of saying that someone is not in good health.

severely sick

Emphasizes the intensity and impact of the illness.

badly ailing

Indicates a gradual decline in health, often associated with old age.

in critical condition

Focuses on the medical status, highlighting the precariousness of the patient's health.

in serious condition

A general term to describe a concerning state of health.

affected by a severe illness

A more descriptive and formal way of expressing a significant health issue.

FAQs

What's a more common alternative to "highly ill"?

Common alternatives include "very ill", "seriously ill", or "critically ill", depending on the severity of the situation.

Is "highly ill" grammatically incorrect?

While not strictly incorrect, "highly ill" is less common and can sound awkward. Other phrases like "severely ill" or "gravely ill" are typically preferred.

When is it appropriate to use "highly ill"?

You might use "highly ill" to emphasize the severity of an illness in a formal or medical context, but alternatives are generally clearer. In most cases, it is a synonym of "very sick", but less common.

How does "highly ill" compare to "seriously ill"?

"Seriously ill" is generally preferred because it is more commonly used and clearly conveys the gravity of the situation. "Highly ill" can sound overly formal or unnatural.