ail 1 of 2

noun

Definition of ailnext
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning half of the staff is out sick with the usual wintertime ails

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

ail

2 of 2

verb

ˈāl How to pronounce ail (audio)
as in to bother
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy parents who were at a loss to explain what was ailing their normally vivacious daughter

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of ail
Noun
What’s more, the age-old phrase the team’s fans have used to describe Detroit’s recent ails – ‘SOL’ or same old Lions – seems to have been banished for now. — Ben Morse, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024 In the age of generative AI, the theft of huge troves of medical information might be even more dangerous, as our health records wind up in data sets that enable off-the-books innovation in exploiting our ails. — Steven Levy, WIRED, 12 Jan. 2024
Verb
Vasilescu says Converse could meet the same fate, given its recent performance and the parent company’s need to focus on fixing other ailing parts of its business, like sales in China and its Jordan brand. — Phil Wahba, Fortune, 20 Oct. 2026 Yet much of what has ailed Dallas against Green Bay applies to the rest of their opponents, as well, and has left them rarely able to make consistent progress toward becoming a legitimate playoff contender. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ail
  1. disease
  2. bother
  3. ailment
  4. alarm
  5. illness
  6. disturb
  7. ill
  8. concern
Noun
  • The man fell into a coma and succumbed to the disease on October 9, 2026, after life support was withdrawn.
    — Sahas Mehra, Scientific American, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Amid the onset of Parkinson’s disease, Lincoln retired from the museum in 2014.
    — Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 28 Oct. 2026
Definition of disease
Verb
  • The mathematics and computer science graduate, who spent two years in the Peace Corps, launched Netflix by mailing DVDs in red envelopes to customers bothered by Blockbuster Video chain’s practices and late fees.
    — Meg James, Los Angeles Times, 26 Oct. 2026
  • Some people, like me, are bothered by such images but can mostly ignore them.
    — Gabriela Galvin, Scientific American, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of bother
Noun
  • Last season, Williams missed 49 regular-season games and much of the postseason after dealing with a right wrist injury that required surgery and nagging hamstring ailments in both legs.
    — Scott Thompson OutKick, FOXNews.com, 27 Oct. 2026
  • So, too, was Capra’s, despite some misbegotten movies and his struggles with depression and other ailments.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of ailment
Verb
  • That move sparked enormous street protests in Israel, and alarmed many Israeli citizens overseas.
    — Daniel Brook, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
  • The new company has nearly $80 billion in debt, with leverage of six-and-a-half times trailing earnings, a ratio that has alarmed investors and triggered credit rating downgrades.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of alarm
Noun
  • Large companies can spread that risk across many people; at a small business, one serious illness or accident can quickly raise costs.
    — Jen Christensen, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Shigellosis is a gastrointestinal illness caused by a group of bacteria called Shigella.
    — Devika Rao, TheWeek, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of illness
Verb
  • Her departure came just the day after prosecutors said the baby's mother discovered disturbing camera footage over a three-month period.
    — Dean Fioresi, CBS News, 28 Oct. 2026
  • Then the heart-wrenching, disturbing discussion of why Nevada became famous overnight was brought up.
    — Omar Kelly, Miami Herald, 27 Oct. 2026
Definition of disturb
Noun
  • Hilton has blasted Becerra as taking the state’s voters for granted, failing to hold public campaign events to explain his detailed plans to address California’s many ills.
    — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Now, in The Social Reckoning, Sorkin focuses on the ills of the company Facebook eventually became.
    — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of ill
Verb
  • Huang’s ideas concerned two formulas that appeared in Ramanujan’s letters and are now known as the Rogers-Ramanujan identities.
    — Lyndie Chiou, Scientific American, 29 Oct. 2026
  • OpenAI therefore leaves individual training rewards unchanged when monitors flag concerning samples.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of concern

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Cite this Entry

“Ail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ail. Accessed 1 Nov. 2026.

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