Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
bout of illness

bout of illness

1 3.8
A short time when a person is sick
  • noun
translation icon : episodio de enfermedad
  • Many people believe that frequent bouts of illness can weaken the immune system and lead to more serious health problems.

Examples

  • "I had a bout of illness."

    Fiction book (1998)

  • It occurred to me that once they saw that he had recovered from his bout of illness, none of the others thought to ask the man how he felt, even though the attack that had seized first his head and then his entire body had been savage.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • After struggling for months, he finally recovered from a serious bout of illness that kept him in bed for weeks.

  • She took a leave of absence from work due to a bout of illness that required her to rest and recuperate at home.

Synonyms

sickness
vsbout of illness
103 1.0

A time when your body is not healthy

is a short illness period rather than a general ongoing health state
bout
vsbout of illness
47 4.4

A short period when someone is ill or has strong symptoms

is specifically a short period of illness rather than a general episode

Antonyms

wellness
52 3.2

Good physical and mental health that people try to keep

How Severe

bout of illness
1 3.8
sickness
103 1.0
ailment
63 3.4

Surface Forms

bout of illness singular
bouts of illness plural

Morphology

bout + of + illness

The meaning is directly compositional: 'bout' (a short episode) combined with 'illness' (sickness) yields 'a short period of sickness.' The productive pattern 'bout of X' straightforwardly signals a brief episode and is similar across many languages, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Bout of illness comes from bout, an old word for a short 'fight' or match, and illness, meaning sickness. So a bout of illness is like a short 'fight' with sickness, which is why it means a short period of being sick.