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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

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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
Searching for a natural remedy for anxiety or something else that ails you? — Laura Itzkowitz, Vogue, 4 Sep. 2026 Mladic’s family and the Serbian government had requested several times that Mladic be released, citing his age and ailing health. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 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 layer plays a vital role in absorbing the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, which can cause diseases such as skin cancer.
    — Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Introducing a fish foreign to the region could bring diseases into the water.
    — John Donegan LONG BEACH POST, Arkansas Online, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of disease
Verb
  • Tanner Faaborg said he was also bothered by the reshaping of rural Iowa by industrial animal agriculture.
    — Rachel Cramer, NPR, 21 Sep. 2026
  • Before turning it into a judgment about your abilities, notice what specifically bothered you.
    — Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 20 Sep. 2026
Definition of bother
Noun
  • Delane injured his shoulder while being tackled on the interception, an ailment that cost him time in training camp.
    — Sam McDowell, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
  • By April 4, he’d been placed on the 15-day IL with left hip inflammation, an ailment that later required a move to the 60-day IL in May.
    — Johnny Flores Jr, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of ailment
Verb
  • But the Treasury market’s rapid deterioration is now alarming those who previously downplayed the risks.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 19 Sep. 2026
  • The constant delay-of-game calls, false starts and inability to get lined up are a special level of alarming for a quarterback who entered the NFL 10 years ago.
    — Jason Lloyd, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of alarm
Noun
  • As a result, more people have now died of environmental illnesses that followed the September 11 attacks than perished during the collapse of the towers that day.
    — Brenda Goodman, CNN Money, 19 Sep. 2026
  • About 80% of infected people develop no symptoms, while most others experience a mild flu-like illness.
    — Giada Zampano, Los Angeles Times, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of illness
Verb
  • Food companies are trying to find ways to make products healthier or more affordable by changing ingredients without disturbing familiar textures.
    — Dee-Ann Durbin, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2026
  • These changes can disturb the jet stream, the fast-moving westerly current of air in the atmosphere that helps steer weather systems around the Northern Hemisphere.
    — Yongkang Xue, The Conversation, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of disturb
Noun
  • In this framework, the cure for the party’s ills can only come from inside the party, not from any external force.
    — ANDREW MERTHA, Foreign Affairs, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Football cannot be expected to answer societal ills, but this is the sort of area in which the club’s foundation does its invaluable outreach work, a place touched by those statistics about deprivation and crime.
    — Michael Walker, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of ill
Verb
  • While experts recognize the immense scientific potential of the findings, some warn that the ability to create hybrid mouse-human cortical brain cells could bring us closer than ever to a concerning ethical boundary.
    — Mike McRae September 17, New Atlas, 17 Sep. 2026
  • Aero Plantation’s roads are privately owned and maintained by the neighborhood, a distinction residents cited in explaining why outside traffic concerns them.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 17 Sep. 2026
Definition of concern

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ailed
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Cite this Entry

“Ail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ail. Accessed 22 Sep. 2026.

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