illth means the opposite of wealth; that which, by its possession, causes damage of some kind. Lexicurio rates it Sui generis — a strength score of 87 out of 100.
illth is pronounced /ɪlθ/.
Why “illth” is a great word
ILLTH — [Noun] The antithesis of true wealth; a condition or category of possessions, productions, or systems that actively diminish well-being, prosperity, or societal health. From ill (adverse, harmful) + -th (abstract nominal suffix), coined in 1862 by John Ruskin as an antithesis to wealth. Unlike "poverty," which denotes a state of lack, or "waste," which implies discarded potential, illth is an active, corrosive presence—a surplus that subtracts. It is the factory's smoke choking the city it was built to enrich, the hoarded grain rotting in a warehouse while people starve, the glittering anxiety of possessions that demand constant guarding and debt. It is the quiet truth that growth, when malignant, is a form of decay.
Etymology
From ill + -th (abstract nominal suffix), coined by John Ruskin as an opposite for wealth, in the sense of ill being the opposite of well.
noun
- The opposite of wealth; that which, by its possession, causes damage of some kind.