1
: a bodily disorder or chronic disease
a stomach ailment
2
: unrest, uneasiness
an emotional ailment
Synonyms
Examples of ailment in a Sentence
She suffered from a chronic back ailment.
The doctor treated him for a variety of ailments.
Recent Examples on the Web
The ailment, ultimately a minor setback in what’s turned into another stellar season for the Orioles prospect, kept him away from catching for nearly two months and limited him to strictly hitting for much of March and April.
—
Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 13 June 2024
Taken together, these circumstances pressure deckhands to work through fatigue, ailments and injuries.
—C.j. Chivers James Patrick Cronin Elena Hecht Anna Diamond Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 6 June 2024
Their physical frailty as older adults also jeopardizes their chances of recovering from a suicide attempt.
Diseases and other ailments such as hearing loss can also worsen mental health as men age.
—Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024
Whether at your primary care physician’s office for a routine physical or in the emergency room with a more pressing ailment, your health care concerns weren’t heard, or worse—were ignored.
—Bylindsey Leake, Fortune, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ailment 
Taylor Lyons, Baltimore Sun, 13 June 2024
Taken together, these circumstances pressure deckhands to work through fatigue, ailments and injuries.
—C.j. Chivers James Patrick Cronin Elena Hecht Anna Diamond Quinton Kamara, New York Times, 6 June 2024
Their physical frailty as older adults also jeopardizes their chances of recovering from a suicide attempt.
Diseases and other ailments such as hearing loss can also worsen mental health as men age.
—Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 5 June 2024
Whether at your primary care physician’s office for a routine physical or in the emergency room with a more pressing ailment, your health care concerns weren’t heard, or worse—were ignored.
—Bylindsey Leake, Fortune, 22 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for ailment
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ailment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near ailment
Cite this Entry
“Ailment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ailment. Accessed 20 Jun. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
ailment
noun
ail·ment
ˈā(ə)l-mənt 
: a bodily disorder or chronic disease
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