ailment

noun

ˈāl-mənt How to pronounce ailment (audio)
Definition of ailmentnext
as in disease
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning a doctor known for successfully treating patients with chronic back ailments

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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 ailment One year after the fire, Christine Moore died unexpectedly with a heart ailment. — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 Dawn had had a lifelong interest in homeopathy and spent hours obsessively detailing her children’s ailments. — Laura Preston, New Yorker, 30 Aug. 2026 Martin-Scott was dealing with a hamstring ailment, Canales said. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 29 Aug. 2026 Tracking of an outbreak of the intestinal ailment began with a sudden spike in cases that got the attention of local and state health officials in late June. — Paula Wethington, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for ailment
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ailment
  1. disease
  2. illness
  3. ill
  4. condition
  5. fever
  6. sickness
Noun
  • Additionally, animals carry diseases, such as rabies and leptospirosis, that can be fatal to people.
    — Elaine Reno, The Conversation, 8 Sep. 2026
  • People with thyroid disease, kidney, liver or heart problems, or those taking NSAIDs, opiate pain medications or certain antidepressants can actually take in too much water.
    — Hanna Wickes, Sacbee.com, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of disease
Noun
  • The initiative aims to bring positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Violations marked as priority contribute directly to the elimination, prevention or reduction in the hazards associated with foodborne illness.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of illness
Noun
  • But unlike Transcription or George Saunders’s Vigil, the year’s other novel about a rich old man on his way to the underworld, this book doesn’t try to diagnose our collective ills.
    — Emma Alpern, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
  • All the police will find is a crowd sitting in silent vigil and a bottle of olive oil for anointing the ill.
    — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026
Definition of ill
Noun
  • The outbreak in eastern Congo is spreading under extremely difficult conditions, fueled by insecurity, displacement, a health workers' strike and intense population movements.
    — JEAN-YVES KAMALE, Arkansas Online, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Israel robs children of their smallest joys because joy is the seed of hope, and that is how the body learns that captivity is not the natural condition of life.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of condition
Noun
  • In just his first year, a bacterial infection gave him nonstop diarrhea, belly cramps and a fever.
    — Jayme Fraser, USA Today, 7 Sep. 2026
  • That fever dream-sounding couple of sentences actually describes a real thing.
    — Rick Porter, HollywoodReporter, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of fever
Noun
  • There’s a mysterious sickness going around, apparently caused by a toxic fog that invisibly burns the skin of whoever comes into contact with it.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
  • In the case of the cyclospora outbreak, Taylor Farms initiated a recall of iceberg lettuce after reports of sickness emerged from across the country.
    — Dian Zhang, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of sickness

Browse Nearby Words

ailing
ailment
ailments
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Cite this Entry

“Ailment.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ailment. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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