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

Midway through the tour, Bonham had to leave to tend to his ailing mother. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 24 Aug. 2026

Those ailing leaves can be a sign of deeper problems such as rotting roots or a bug infestation, though sometimes, a yellowing leaf is just part of a monstera’s natural aging process. — Leanne Potts, Better Homes & Gardens, 23 Aug. 2026

Verb

Interspersed throughout the myriad activations of Monterey Car Week is the most important facet for the collector community, and that’s the array of auctions that serve as either an optimistic barometer reading or an ailing canary in the coal mine. — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 19 Aug. 2026

Sandy, apparently blind to the interpersonal nuances ailing the deck team, keeps Aesha on deck, Kayley as acting chief stew, and makes Joe acting bosun for the charter. — Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 18 Aug. 2026