摘要：He was the only person Alice ever spoke ill of, insisting he was a liar and a thief. (他是爱丽丝唯一说过坏话的人，坚称他是个骗子和小偷。)[剑桥高级学者辞典]

speak ill of someone几乎可以直译，即“说某人坏话”，或者“给某人上眼药”。这里的ill理解成副词，修饰speak。

品读例句，

【例句1】She never speaks ill of anyone. （她从不说任何人的坏话。 ）[牛津高级学者辞典]

【例句2】Don't speak ill of the dead. （不要说逝者坏话。） [牛津高级学者辞典]

【例句3】It's wrong to speak ill of the dead.(说死者的坏话是不对的。)[朗文当代英语词典]

【例句4】I realize one shouldn't speak ill of the dead. (我意识到一个人不应该说死者的坏话。)[剑桥高级学者辞典]

【例句5】I never heard her speak ill of anyone.（我从未听她说过任何人的坏话。）[剑桥高级学者辞典]

【例句6】It seemed she found it difficult to speak ill of anyone. （她似乎觉得很难说任何人的坏话。 ） [柯林斯高级学者辞典]

【例句7】He was the only person Alice ever spoke ill of, insisting he was a liar and a thief. (他是爱丽丝唯一说过坏话的人，坚称他是个骗子和小偷。)[剑桥高级学者辞典]

【例句8】I don't like speaking ill of my colleagues, but there are a lot of incompetent people working here. (我不喜欢说同事的坏话，但这里有很多不称职的人。 ) [剑桥高级学者辞典]

【例句9】He is unusual in that he refuses to speak ill of the other candidates. (他与众不同，因为他拒绝说其他候选人的坏话。)[剑桥高级学者辞典]

说某人好话，高度赞扬是speak well/highly of someone，这里highly是副词。

品读例句，

【例句10】Both spoke highly of the incumbent president. (两人都高度评价现任总统。 ) [柯林斯高级学者辞典]

【例句11】Her students speak very highly of her (= they say very good things about her). (她的学生对她评价很高。) [牛津高级学者辞典]

【例句12】Her co-workers spoke highly of her. (她的同事们对她评价很高。 )[朗文当代英语词典]

【例句13】She speaks very highly of (= says good things about) the new director. (她对新主任评价很高。) [牛津高级学者辞典]

来源：就喜欢说三道四一点号