The meaning of ILLNESS is sickness. WebMD Symptom Checker is designed with a body map to help you understand what your medical symptoms could mean, and provide you with the trusted information you need to help make informed decisions. If you have an illness, there is something wrong with your health. An illness can last for a long time or a short time, and its effects can be serious or not serious. A to Z list of common illnesses and conditions including their symptoms, causes and treatments. Is there a difference between a disease and an illness? Technically, yes. A disease is something a physician can diagnose, and an illness is something you feel. In humans, disease is often used more broadly to refer to any condition that causes or can cause pain, dysfunction, distress, social problems, or death to the person affected, or similar problems for those in contact with the person. Illness represents a subjective experience of feeling unwell, often accompanied by suffering or discomfort. It signifies a deviation from an individual’s perceived normal state of health and well-being. Find out what illness is going around in your area right now. Real-time tracking of norovirus, flu, RSV, COVID, and stomach bugs by state. Updated daily. Explore comprehensive guides on hundreds of common and rare diseases and conditions from the experts at Mayo Clinic. (Definition of illness from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press).