1
as in fragile
chronically or repeatedly suffering from poor health
when his ailing wife had to go to a nursing home, he visited her every day
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sick
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
he was ailing from some sort of infection in his eye that made it look all red and puffy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bothering
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
parents who were at a loss to explain what was ailing their normally vivacious daughter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ailing
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
Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2025
Advocates worry the lack of transparency will allow bad actors to continue running care facilities and putting elderly, disabled and ailing residents at risk.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ailing
Adjective
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
Verb
Swank did step away from acting for three years at age 24 to care for her ailing father.
—Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 8 Apr. 2025
Advocates worry the lack of transparency will allow bad actors to continue running care facilities and putting elderly, disabled and ailing residents at risk.
—Ryan Fonseca, Los Angeles Times, 27 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for ailing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ailing
Adjective
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In public comments to the federal agency, city leaders stressed how the Big Easy's already fragile, aging drinking water infrastructure would have trouble withstanding the impacts if the 2024 sill were to breach.—
Kati Weis,
CBS News,
28 Apr. 2025
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Automation reduces labor dependency, stabilizes production costs, and ends our reliance on fragile, offshore supply chains.—
Cam Myers,
Sourcing Journal,
28 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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Without the vaccine, these 22 million Americans could get sick, hospitalized and even die.—
Omer Awan,
Forbes.com,
3 May 2025
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William would put him in his place… but King Charles is weak, sick and detests confrontation, so Prince Andrew runs over him.—
Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
1 May 2025
Verb
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Rodin Cars The big idea behind Rodin is to build cars without bothering about vehicle regulations – in stark contrast to F1 cars, which are subject to several rules around how they're put together.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 Jan. 2025
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The city and state have also been ramping up efforts to engage troubled vagrants sleeping and sometimes bothering straphangers, connecting them with services and shelter and potentially involuntary treatment.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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The researchers and their partners are also working to track local residents’ health and to measure how well or poorly interventions like masks and household air filters protected them.—
Maggie Astor,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
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Both the United States and the United Nations have stepped back from leadership roles, a reflection of how poorly interventions in Haiti have gone and also the wide range of issues in other parts of the world at the moment.—
Adam Taylor,
Washington Post,
7 Mar. 2024
Adjective
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With this, Trump is offering Putin a frail fig leaf of respectability.—
Nick Paton Walsh,
CNN Money,
24 Apr. 2025
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The frail Francis had celebrated Easter with public words to his faithful flock and a brief meeting with Vice President JD Vance.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
22 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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President Donald Trump intends to completely reimagine U.S. trade relations with our closest partners and fiercest rivals, for better or worse.—
Charles Singh,
USA Today,
30 Apr. 2025
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Monday started inauspiciously when Davion Mitchell threw a bad pass to Kel’el Ware; Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen intercepted and dunked in transition.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
29 Apr. 2025
Adjective
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But does that mean that vegans are going against human’s evolutionary history and are bound to be weak, sickly, and even stupid?—
Marianne Krasny,
Forbes.com,
31 Mar. 2025
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The collection of slab-like columns by Derek McLane, lit in sickly, sullen colors by Natasha Katz, could be anywhere.—
Jesse Green,
New York Times,
24 Mar. 2025
Adjective
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This applies to beneficiaries who are not a spouse, minor child, disabled, chronically ill or certain trusts.—
Kate Dore, CFP®, EA,
CNBC,
30 Apr. 2025
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Rather, the animals were probably ill or injured when they were buried, or may have been otherwise unfit for military service.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
29 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ailing. Accessed 9 May. 2025.
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