deep and harsh sounding as if from shouting or illness or emotion; "gruff voices"; "the dog's gruff barking"; "hoarse cries"; "makes all the instruments sound powerful but husky"- Virgil Thomson
showing skill and sensitivity in dealing with people; "by diplomatic conduct he avoided antagonizing anyone"; "a tactful way of correcting someone"; "the agency got the kid-glove treatment on Capitol Hill"
having or showing a sense of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others; "she was tactful enough not to shatter his illusion"; "a tactful remark eased her embarrassment"
unpredictably difficult in operation; likely to be troublesome; "rockets were much too fractious to be tested near thickly populated areas"; "fractious components of a communication system"
stubbornly resistant to authority or control; "a fractious animal that would not submit to the harness"; "a refractory child"
presaging ill fortune; "ill omens"; "ill predictions"; "my words with inauspicious thunderings shook heaven"- P.B.Shelley; "a dead and ominous silence prevailed"; "a by-election at a time highly unpropitious for the Government"
distressing; "ill manners"; "of ill repute"
resulting in suffering or adversity; "ill effects"; "it's an ill wind that blows no good"
indicating hostility or enmity; "you certainly did me an ill turn"; "ill feelings"; "ill will"
affected by an impairment of normal physical or mental function; "ill from the monotony of his suffering"
(`ill' is often used as a combining form) in a poor or improper or unsatisfactory manner; not well; "he was ill prepared"; "it ill befits a man to betray old friends"; "the car runs badly"; "he performed badly on the exam"; "the team played poorly"; "ill-fitting clothes"; "an ill-conceived plan"
with difficulty or inconvenience; scarcely or hardly; "we can ill afford to buy a new car just now"
unfavorably or with disapproval; "tried not to speak ill of the dead"; "thought badly of him for his lack of concern"
having or showing determination and energetic pursuit of your ends; "an aggressive businessman"; "an aggressive basketball player"; "he was aggressive and imperious; positive in his convictions"; "aggressive drivers"
characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight; "aggressive acts against another country"; "a belligerent tone"