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

The actress — who stars in the new drama film Rosemead as an ailing woman who goes to drastic lengths to protect her troubled teenage son — welcomed Rockwell via a surrogate in August 2015. —Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 7 Dec. 2025

Liu stars an ailing suburban woman who uncovers a terrifying secret — her teenage son (Lawrence Shou) is consumed by violent impulses. —Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 7 Dec. 2025

Verb

Demonstrations have included cries in support of the shah, something that could bring a death sentence in the past but now underlines the anger fueling the protests that began over Iran’s ailing economy. —Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 8 Jan. 2026

The ailing iceberg may have also sprung a leak. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 8 Jan. 2026