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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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
The Dalai Lama’s body may be ailing, true, but no one should bet against the punch line belonging to the monk who never stopped laughing. — Charlie Campbell, Time, 9 July 2026 The show follows a 50-year-old divorcee navigating the dating world while simultaneously juggling the care of her ailing parents and parenting her grow-up son. — Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 8 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
  • Already large clinical trials are testing if certain drugs could prevent or at least delay the disease — and if any of those pan out, doctors will need an easy way to tell who should try them.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 July 2026
  • The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office determined Quinonez Palomares died of cardiovascular disease, with obesity listed as a significant contributing condition.
    — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 15 July 2026
Definition of disease
Verb
  • The tequila shrimp empanadas disappear quickly, while the huitlacoche quesadilla folds Oaxaca cheese, mushrooms, roasted corn, and salsa macha crema into something deeper and earthier than most Midtown menus bother attempting.
    — Rafael Peña, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026
  • Maybe altering the letters bothered her most because publication inevitably makes the integrity of a letter—the message from writer to recipient—secondary.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 July 2026
Definition of bother
Noun
  • For the third time in a year, his young career has been temporarily derailed by an injury — this time, a thumb ailment that will sideline him into August.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 13 July 2026
  • The respiratory ailment's name comes from an outbreak that hit attendees of an American Legion convention in Philadelphia in 1976.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 11 July 2026
Definition of ailment
Verb
  • As a former internee at Guantánamo and a onetime federal inmate, Rey had enough experience to be immediately alarmed by the chaos at Camp East Montana.
    — Jonathan Blitzer, New Yorker, 13 July 2026
  • Europe, for its part, is alarmed by the prospect of American abandonment of Ukraine.
    — Galip Dalay, Time, 7 July 2026
Definition of alarm
Noun
  • Meanwhile, investigations into similar illnesses have been going on in 28 other states, including in Ohio, where people just across the Michigan border are also becoming sick.
    — Mike Stobbe, Los Angeles Times, 12 July 2026
  • But then again, Rice is said to be suffering from illness, too.
    — Jack Pitt-Brooke, New York Times, 11 July 2026
Definition of illness
Verb
  • White-footed mice, which do carry the culprit bacteria — charmingly named Borrelia burgdorferi — thrive in areas disturbed by people, according to Ostfeld.
    — Meg Tirrell, CNN Money, 14 July 2026
  • Clear your calendar, put your phone on ‘Do not disturb’ and enjoy.
    — The Athletic Soccer Experts, New York Times, 14 July 2026
Definition of disturb
Noun
  • 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
  • Hualde says that some Pamplona residents rue his early promotion of the festival due to the ills of overtourism the sleepy provincial city is now experiencing.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 July 2026
Definition of ill
Verb
  • Plummeting immigration is concerning, since our data suggests that immigration was the biggest contributor to Florida’s growth since 2023.
    — Matt Brooks, Fortune, 15 July 2026
  • Bradač’s proof concerns off-diagonal Ramsey numbers, which allow for large differences between the size of a clique and the size of an independent set.
    — Sam Macdonald, Scientific American, 15 July 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 17 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of ail for Spanish Speakers

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