AILED Synonyms: 92 Similar and Opposite Words

ailed

verb

past tense of ail

as in bothered

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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Recent Examples of ailed Yet much of what has ailed Dallas against Green Bay applies to the rest of their opponents, as well, and has left them rarely able to make consistent progress toward becoming a legitimate playoff contender. — Andrew Greif, NBC news, 19 Oct. 2026 The pics included a sweet snap of Harry kissing Lili, setting up a game of archery balloons with Archie and driving his kids on an all-terrain vehicle while being ailed by the family’s Labrador retriever, Pula. — Meredith Kile, PEOPLE, 24 Sep. 2026 Because for all else that ailed the Chiefs last year, a common denominator was the loss of that certain something that starts with discipline and an edge. — Kansas City Star, 18 Aug. 2026 Whatever ailed this World Cup, the beautiful game was waiting with its healing powers. — Miami Herald, 12 July 2026 Shingles, folliculitis, and COVID-19 also ailed her during this time. — David Oliver, USA Today, 8 June 2026 The tweaks should fix much of what has long ailed it. — Todd Martens, Los Angeles Times, 21 May 2026 With none of the colonialist baggage associated with the two European superpowers, America was turned to, almost as a last resort, to fix what ailed Iran. — Daniel Thomas Potts, The Conversation, 30 Mar. 2026 That struggling Cincinnati defense has been the cure-all for anything that has ailed the Steelers’ offense in recent years. — Mike Defabo, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for ailed

Verb

Was there anything about performing power ballads that bothered you?

— Devon Ivie, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
Choosing to recommit may depend on whether anyone at the firm bothered to treat her as someone whose conclusion would eventually matter.

— Nili Sangani, Forbes.com, 5 Nov. 2026

Definition of bothered

Verb

That move sparked enormous street protests in Israel, and alarmed many Israeli citizens overseas.

— Daniel Brook, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
The new company has nearly $80 billion in debt, with leverage of six-and-a-half times trailing earnings, a ratio that has alarmed investors and triggered credit rating downgrades.

— Dade Hayes, Deadline, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of alarmed

Verb

And, on the eve of the election, El-Sayed’s primary opponent, Haley Stevens, distracted from the conversation with her left-field endorsement of Rogers that may have ejected her from the Democratic party and possibly a political career.

— Mikey O'Connell, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2026
The first officer used her Taser twice on the dogs, which distracted them but did not stop them from attacking, police say.

— Karma Sabbah, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026

Definition of distracted

Verb

And voters in both parties want to ban members of Congress from trading individual stocks, concerned that lawmakers are using privileged information to enrich themselves.

— Thomas Kahn, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026
In the same poll, 81% of young Democrats, 67% of independents, and 60% of young Republicans said they were concerned.

— Muskaan Arshad, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of concerned

Verb

Democrats also swept all three available school board seats, just two years after Republican state lawmakers made the traditionally nonpartisan elections partisan, a change that Democratic candidates worried would put them at a disadvantage.

— Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 4 Nov. 2026
Yet Wall Street may have found opportunity in the same slowdown that worried AI's biggest backers.

— Luke Fountain, CNBC, 4 Nov. 2026

Definition of worried

Verb

Leo's packed three-day itinerary in Uruguay includes a visit to a neighborhood plagued by gang violence, a Mass in Paysandú, around 230 miles from the capital, and another Mass in the city of Florida, about 60 miles from Montevideo.

— Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2026
The Cybertruck was plagued from the get-go – from promises of its release in the late 2010s to its eventual rollout in 2023.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 6 Nov. 2026

Definition of plagued

Verb

Within that rigidity lay a fear of becoming overwhelmed by patients’ suffering and then unsettled just before operating.

— Robert M. Kinast, STAT, 3 Nov. 2026
Taken as a whole, the national numbers reveal an electorate that is unsettled, gloomy and likely looking for change.

— Ari Pinkus, The Conversation, 28 Oct. 2026

Definition of unsettled

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“Ailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ailed. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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