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
Whatever ailed this World Cup, the beautiful game was waiting with its healing powers. — Miami Herald, 12 July 2026 Hoping to save his ailing wife and son, Shujiro travels to the Tenryu-ji temple, where the tournament is overseen by Enju (Kazunari Ninomiya). — David Faris, TheWeek, 10 July 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
  • DeepMind’s AlphaFold, for example, has used to AI to make available new structures for more than 200 million proteins, opening new pathways for research into disease and medicine.
    — Belonging Forum, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
  • The lab got its start with studies of Rocky Mountain spotted fever in the 1900s, when ranchers and cattle were dying from the then-unknown disease.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
Definition of disease
Verb
  • And Zendaya not looking especially Greek doesn’t bother Shapiro in the least.
    — Etan Vlessing, HollywoodReporter, 20 July 2026
  • That clause has governed American creativity for more than two centuries on an assumption so obvious nobody bothered to write it down.
    — Charles Lew, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026
Definition of bother
Noun
  • The right-hander has been dealing with the ailment for more than a month.
    — Mike Fitzpatrick, Chicago Tribune, 20 July 2026
  • But a lingering issue with his left knee is the most serious ailment on his docket.
    — Andy McCullough, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Definition of ailment
Verb
  • But many doctors are alarmed by a craze that has thousands of people injecting themselves with substances of dubious origin and whose long-term effects are unknown.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 20 July 2026
  • In Orange County, the Florida Department of Health in Orange County maintains infectious-disease surveillance and disease-reporting services for residents and visitors, which is exactly how local systems stay ready without alarming the public.
    — Luis E. Caso Vega, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 July 2026
Definition of alarm
Noun
  • After her diagnosis, her doctor taught her about the illness and what to expect during treatment.
    — Durrie Bouscaren, NPR, 25 July 2026
  • In the initial stages of infection, the pathogen would resemble a known illness—one vulnerable to standard vaccines or drug remedies.
    — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, New Yorker, 25 July 2026
Definition of illness
Verb
  • Plus, Bluetooth headphone pairing lets students watch TV late at night without disturbing roommates.
    — Juhi Wadia, PC Magazine, 22 July 2026
  • Environmental groups fear that breeding grounds could be disturbed by a variety of things including vehicle traffic and unchecked development.
    — Michael Casey, Los Angeles Times, 21 July 2026
Definition of disturb
Noun
  • Blaming billionaire wealth-hoarding for America’s ills would poll very well among the nation’s anthropology departments.
    — Gilad Edelman, The Atlantic, 19 July 2026
  • Last month, Kwon’s team, in collaboration with Seongju Kim at Hanbat National University, in Daejeon, South Korea, presented its solution to HBM’s future ills.
    — IEEE Spectrum, IEEE Spectrum, 8 July 2026
Definition of ill
Verb
  • Patel arrived in Jakarta shortly after talks with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet concerning joint efforts to combat international online scam operations that cheat victims out of billions of dollars annually.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 23 July 2026
  • Advertisement Steve Swope, another Coweta County resident, relies on wellwater, and is concerned that the construction of the data center could damage septic tanks or leak into the groundwater.
    — Simmone Shah, Time, 22 July 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 26 Jul. 2026.

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