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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

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
With safety Chamarri Conner still ailing as of Wednesday, Jaden Hicks could make his second straight start. — Kansas City Star, 17 Sep. 2026 Set against the backdrop of the summer holidays, Sick revolves around sixteen-year-old Maks (Kąkol) and his older sister Emma (Łubik) who are sent to the Polish countryside to care for their ailing grandmother. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 14 Sep. 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
  • Instead, the defense sought to persuade the jury that the 36-year-old former labor and delivery nurse was not criminally responsible because of mental disease, a rare condition called postpartum psychosis.
    — MICHAEL CASEY, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026
  • The growing range of treatment options marks a shift from seeking a cure to focusing on avoiding the disease entirely.
    — Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of disease
Verb
  • In Levittown, the cost-cutting builders at first hadn’t even bothered with tanks and had installed cesspools instead—three decades later, the suburb’s sewer system was still under construction.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Professionally, Bernat didn’t bother to answer a Florida Department of Health administrative complaint detailing the charges in the Alzheimer patient’s case.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of bother
Noun
  • Miller, though, who is dealing with hip and back ailments, was downgraded to not participating Thursday after he was limited at Wednesday drills.
    — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
  • In determining whether to reimburse treatment for such ailments, insurers turn to Food and Drug Administration labels and expert guidelines.
    — Arthur Allen, CBS News, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of ailment
Verb
  • Remac says the rod stays as quiet as a library room, so you won't be alarmed by annoying sounds.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 28 Sep. 2026
  • His historical record of the Peloponnesian War described how Athens’ rapid rise in power alarmed Sparta and made war between the two city-states inevitable.
    — Evelyn Cheng, CNBC, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of alarm
Noun
  • On Friday, the pope strongly reiterated the Church's pro-life teachings, criticizing initiatives to allow assisted dying for those who have incurable illnesses.
    — Joshua McElwee, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Hair loss in women can be caused by many things, including your genetics, illnesses, nutritional deficiencies, physiological stress and shifts in hormones.
    — Lindsey Bever, Washington Post, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of illness
Verb
  • Baldwin alleged that decision was just one part of a pattern of disturbing prosecutorial abuses, including presenting false information to the grand jury, failing to disclose two firearms reports, and filing an unlawful gun enhancement.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 30 Sep. 2026
  • But the death of Khamenei eliminated the regime’s paramount figure, disturbing the existing balance, and the war is systematically privileging the parts of the state responsible for survival over everything else.
    — Ali Vaez, Foreign Affairs, 29 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
  • Bass is particularly concerned by the relative lack of specialized intervention training for patrol officers who respond to the vast majority of service calls.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
  • The District Court of Gelderland, sitting in Arnhem, in the Netherlands ruled in favor of Birkenstock on a landmark copyright case concerning lookalikes of the German footwear company’s classic sandals sold at Lidl stores.
    — Stephen Garner, Footwear News, 24 Sep. 2026
Definition of concern

Browse Nearby Words

aiguilles
ail
ailed
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Cite this Entry

“Ail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ail. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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