: having or suffering from an illness or injury
providing care for his ailing mother
trying to rest her ailing knee/back
a person in ailing health
—often used figurativelyan ailing company
an ailing economy
Examples of ailing in a Sentence
when his ailing wife had to go to a nursing home, he visited her every day
he was ailing from some sort of infection in his eye that made it look all red and puffy
Recent Examples on the Web
On Sunday, the day before Francis’ passing, Vance exchanged Easter greetings with an ailing Pope.
—
Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
Those two scenes—of an ailing Pope, and of the long-standing Catholic commitment to helping the vulnerable—point to the two dominant stories of Catholicism in the United States, which have converged in the weeks leading up to Easter.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2025
Simon Callow is a new addition as a problematic billionaire funding Metropolitan Ballet Theater, as is David Haig, who plays its ailing artistic director.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Carlos Alcaraz surged past an ailing Lorenzo Musetti to win the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco Sunday, reclaiming the world No. 2 ranking from Alexander Zverev in the process.
—James Hansen, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
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Philip Elliott, Time, 21 Apr. 2025
Those two scenes—of an ailing Pope, and of the long-standing Catholic commitment to helping the vulnerable—point to the two dominant stories of Catholicism in the United States, which have converged in the weeks leading up to Easter.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2025
Simon Callow is a new addition as a problematic billionaire funding Metropolitan Ballet Theater, as is David Haig, who plays its ailing artistic director.
—Emily Zemler, Los Angeles Times, 17 Apr. 2025
Carlos Alcaraz surged past an ailing Lorenzo Musetti to win the Monte Carlo Masters in Monaco Sunday, reclaiming the world No. 2 ranking from Alexander Zverev in the process.
—James Hansen, New York Times, 13 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ailing
Cite this Entry
“Ailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ailing. Accessed 4 May. 2025.
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