1
: a bodily disorder or chronic disease
a stomach ailment
2
: unrest, uneasiness
an emotional ailment
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
Investigators said officers caught up to one of the two suspects, took him into custody, and transported him to Swedish Hospital under police guard for treatment for an unspecified ailment.
—
Darius Johnson, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
An independent study done in 2018, however found the denial rate for those with a primary diagnosis of an affective or mood disorder, such as bipolar disorder and depression was 76%, or 14 percentage points higher than those with physical ailments.
—Jeffrey Freedman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
Manager Craig Counsell described this hamstring strain as mild, explaining Thielbar said this is a less-severe version of the ailment.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
Lee awkwardly slid into home and banged up his quad in the process, a minor ailment that resulted in him being lifted from the game in the eighth inning.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ailment
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Darius Johnson, CBS News, 27 Apr. 2026
An independent study done in 2018, however found the denial rate for those with a primary diagnosis of an affective or mood disorder, such as bipolar disorder and depression was 76%, or 14 percentage points higher than those with physical ailments.
—Jeffrey Freedman, Sun Sentinel, 27 Apr. 2026
Manager Craig Counsell described this hamstring strain as mild, explaining Thielbar said this is a less-severe version of the ailment.
—Meghan Montemurro, Chicago Tribune, 25 Apr. 2026
Lee awkwardly slid into home and banged up his quad in the process, a minor ailment that resulted in him being lifted from the game in the eighth inning.
—Justice Delos Santos, Mercury News, 24 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ailment
Cite this Entry
“Ailment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ailment. Accessed 30 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
ailment
noun
ail·ment
ˈā(ə)l-mənt 
: a bodily disorder or chronic disease
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
