ailing

adjective

ail·​ing ˈā-liŋ How to pronounce ailing (audio)
: 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

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
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.
Vance briefly visited the ailing Francis last month at the Vatican, just hours before his death. Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 8 May 2025 The writer of breakout series Mr Bates vs the Post Office has some choice words for the ailing UK drama industry. Max Goldbart, Deadline, 7 May 2025 Putin in power Putin, a former KGB lieutenant colonel who was handed the presidency on the last day of 1999 by an ailing Boris Yeltsin, is the longest serving Kremlin leader since Josef Stalin, who ruled for 29 years until his death in 1953. Reuters, CNN Money, 4 May 2025 The 6-6, 245-pound right-hander got a two-year, $38.5 million pact that ended his free agency in January 2024 but underwent an internal brace procedure on his ailing elbow before spring training ended. Dan Schlossberg, Forbes.com, 26 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ailing

Word History

Etymology

from present participle of ail entry 1

First Known Use

1598, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ailing was in 1598

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Cite this Entry

“Ailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ailing. Accessed 20 May. 2025.

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