AIL Synonyms: 140 Similar and Opposite Words

ail 1 of 2

noun

Definition of ail

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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ail

2 of 2

verb

ˈāl

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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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

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

What’s bothered me, though, is how its backers have anchored their messaging around a lot of misleading generalizations about the state of college sports.

— Stewart Mandel, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Having my mother in so much of the film [is what] bothers me.

— Merle Ginsberg, HollywoodReporter, 14 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

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
Americans appear increasingly alarmed by the technology,with 7 in 10 polled in March opposing local construction of data centers that power AI technology, according to a Gallup survey.

— Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 13 Sep. 2026

Definition of alarm

Noun

The initiative aims to bring positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses.

— Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Violations marked as priority contribute directly to the elimination, prevention or reduction in the hazards associated with foodborne illness.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 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

Manny Navarro North Carolina Bobby Petrino has fixed all the offensive ills.

— The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
But unlike Transcription or George Saunders’s Vigil, the year’s other novel about a rich old man on his way to the underworld, this book doesn’t try to diagnose our collective ills.

— Emma Alpern, Vulture, 7 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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“Ail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ail. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of ail

noun

verb

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