The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 letter word MALADY
M
A
L
A
D
Y
More clues leading to the result MALADY
- Mother gets female illness
- Complaint of a scholarly woman?
- What may be diagnosed by doctor initially poking tongue?
- Illness man contracted, along with woman
- Complaint from youth in spring month
- Complaint uniting two females
- A boy enthralled by my illness
- Woman, following bloke, contracted illness
- Boy in tree bringing complaint
- Illness of mother, duchess?
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "illness" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case illness = malady.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
What does MALADY mean?
MALADY noun- Any ailment or disease of the body; especially, a lingering or deep-seated disorder.
- A moral or mental defect or disorder.