Synonyms of ailing

ailing 1 of 2

adjective

ˈā-liŋ 

1

as in fragile

chronically or repeatedly suffering from poor health

when his ailing wife had to go to a nursing home, he visited her every day

Synonyms & Similar Words

• fragile
• dying
• frail
• sickly
• sick
• weak
• invalid
• weakly
• feeble
• fading
• bedridden
• moribund
• debilitated
• delicate
• weakened
• ill
• incurable
• incapacitated
• enfeebled
• infirm
• decrepit
• bedfast
• poorly
• unwell
• indisposed
• unhealthy
• worn-out
• unsound
• run-down
• peaked

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• well
• healthy
• whole
• sound
• wholesome
• hale
• fit
• hearty
• able-bodied
• well-conditioned

2

as in sick

temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body

he was ailing from some sort of infection in his eye that made it look all red and puffy

Synonyms & Similar Words

• sick
• poorly
• bad
• ill
• down
• unwell
• weak
• shaky
• indisposed
• unhealthy
• dizzy
• troubled
• out of sorts
• unsound
• under the weather
• sickened
• peaky
• punk
• run-down
• fragile
• peaked
• symptomatic
• disabled
• diseased
• feeble
• afflicted
• frail
• sickish
• infirm
• debilitated
• sickly
• decrepit
• lousy
• cruddy
• seedy
• achy
• woozy
• feverish
• incapacitated
• nauseous
• queasy
• squeamish
• disordered
• seasick
• nauseated
• weakly
• invalid
• hypochondriacal
• airsick
• qualmish
• hypochondriac
• carsick
• light-headed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• whole
• well
• healthy
• sound
• healthful
• wholesome
• hale
• fit
• cured
• better
• able-bodied
• conditioned
• recovering
• improved
• mending
• strong
• hardy
• tough
• well-conditioned
• stalwart
• robust
• lusty
• hearty
• flourishing
• convalescing
• thriving
• rugged
• recuperating
• blooming
• bouncing
• rehabilitated
• flush
• chipper

ailing

2 of 2

verb

present participle of ail

as in bothering

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

• bothering
• concerning
• alarming
• distracting
• disturbing
• worrying
• plaguing
• agitating
• angering
• distressing
• unsettling
• haunting
• upsetting
• annoying
• perturbing
• discomforting
• derailing
• irritating
• exercising
• undoing
• unhinging
• dismaying
• disquieting
• rattling
• bugging
• confusing
• freaking (out)
• embarrassing
• aggravating
• discomposing
• fussing
• exasperating
• distempering
• hagriding
• frazzling
• vexing
• pestering
• bedeviling
• irking
• harassing
• flurrying
• weirding out
• nettling
• harrying
• discouraging
• fretting
• riling
• chafing
• getting
• piquing
• galling
• putting off
• grating
• chivying
• putting out
• confounding
• mortifying
• disconcerting
• jarring
• peeving
• dispiriting
• discomfiting
• flustering
• disheartening
• daunting
• demoralizing
• shaking up
• discountenancing
• unnerving
• fazing
• nonplussing
• abashing

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• soothing
• composing
• settling
• calming
• quieting
• alleviating
• allaying
• tranquilizing
• appeasing
• assuaging
• placating
• pacifying
• conciliating
• mollifying
• propitiating

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ailing

Adjective

Costello told The News there weren’t many people looking out for the ailing former mayor. — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026

It should be duly noted, Bailey Johnson would be a worthy option to join whichever lady decides on the supporting campaign and as the ailing father, Paul Jesson is also incredibly rich and dynamic and would be worthy of consideration. — Clayton Davis, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Verb

His descriptions of being bullied in high school for his sexuality resemble plotlines from Very Special Episodes of TV, and his relationship with his ailing father is similarly generic. — Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 23 Sep. 2026

The judge heard arguments from lawyers for Weinstein, who said the ailing moviemaker, incarcerated since February 2020 and having undergone heart surgery and cancer treatment, deserved leniency. — Molly Crane-Newman, New York Daily News, 23 Sep. 2026