malady

noun

mal·​a·​dy ˈma-lə-dē 

plural maladies

1

: a disease or disorder of the animal body

… told by his physicians that he had a fatal malady …

—Willa Cather

2

: an unwholesome or disordered condition

poverty, homelessness, and other social maladies

Synonyms of malady

• disease
• ailment
• illness
• ill
• fever

Examples of malady in a Sentence

in the olden days people were always suffering from some unknown malady

Recent Examples on the Web

The Aliso Canyon gas leak took nearly four months to control, sickened thousands of families and forced them from their homes near the San Fernando Valley to escape a sulfurous stench and maladies including headaches, nausea and nose bleeds. — ABC News, 2 Nov. 2026

After fighting maladies for so long, brakence embraces them as his muse and coaches himself to keep going. — Kieran Press-Reynolds, Pitchfork, 29 Oct. 2026

Malik from Marketing might be out because of a mysterious malady. — Rod Beard, AJC.com, 28 Oct. 2026

That March, a seventy-year-old patient from a wealthy Cypriot family, Evie Lanitis, arrived at BioMed, complaining of a host of minor maladies, including bursitis in her toes, dental pain, and digestive issues. — D. T. Max, New Yorker, 26 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English maladie, from Anglo-French, from malade sick, from Latin male habitus in bad condition

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

malady

noun

mal·​a·​dy ˈmal-əd-ē 

plural maladies

: a disease or disorder of the body or mind : ailment

Medical Definition

malady

noun

mal·​a·​dy ˈmal-əd-ē 

plural maladies

: disease, sickness

a fatal malady