ailing

adjective

ail·​ing ˈā-liŋ 

: 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 figuratively

an ailing company

an ailing economy

Synonyms of ailing

• fragile
• dying
• frail
• sickly
• sick
• weak
• invalid
• weakly

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

Other stories involve a boy searching for an elixir to cure his ailing mother, and a girl searching for her heart’s desire. —Penny E Schwartz, Oc Register, 24 Nov. 2025

Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025

The Warriors saddled an ailing Curry with an even heavier load in the second half once Jimmy Butler was ruled out with a lower back injury. —Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 5 Nov. 2025

With Larsson getting the start for the ailing Powell, the Heat’s core four off the bench remained intact and again made a big impact in a win. —Anthony Chiang, Miami Herald, 31 Oct. 2025

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of ail entry 1

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for ailing

• bailing
• baling
• failing
• flailing
• grayling
• hailing
• jailing
• mailing
• nailing
• paling
• railing
• sailing