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ailments

noun

plural of ailment
as in diseases
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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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 ailments Starting next year, Illinois will have new safeguards in place to prevent parents from being wrongly accused of child abuse or neglect when their children visit a doctor or hospital emergency room for unexplained injuries or ailments. — Jeremy Gorner, Chicago Tribune, 8 Sep. 2026 The existing international surveillance and response systems for these ailments are limited in scope. — Anna Nelson, Foreign Affairs, 4 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 Curry had lived with various ailments following a 2012 stroke. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 26 Aug. 2026 The deaths among Followers’ infants came from ailments that rarely take children’s lives. — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 25 Aug. 2026 In Russia, phenibut is a prescription drug used to treat anxiety, insomnia, depression, posttraumatic stress disorder and other ailments. — Sandra McDonald, Los Angeles Times, 25 Aug. 2026 In the camps, aid workers were seeing physical ailments with no clear cause, along with signs of post-traumatic stress and a constant sense of insecurity. — Sonia Osorio, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026 Medics treat heat stroke and other ailments from trailers while an announcer calls out an endless stream of names of people separated from their families. — Jane Arraf, NPR, 10 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ailments
  1. diseases
  2. illnesses
  3. ills
  4. sicknesses
  5. conditions
  6. fevers
Noun
  • The New York Times recently wrote about a study that revealed that one in four NFL players develop brain diseases like CTE.
    — Mirin Fader, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Hormonal changes from perimenopause and menopause touch numerous parts of a woman’s health and raise the risk of certain diseases like osteoporosis, diabetes and heart disease.
    — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 10 Sep. 2026
Definition of diseases
Noun
  • There will be a seventh bell-tolling this year, for the thousands who have since died by suicide, or from cancer and other illnesses caused by the ravages of terrorism.
    — Jill Lepore, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026
  • The initiative aims to bring positivity and hope to children battling critical illnesses.
    — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of illnesses
Noun
  • North Carolina Bobby Petrino has fixed all the offensive ills.
    — The Athletic College Football Staff, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • 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
Definition of ills
Noun
  • And while children, the elderly and those with certain sicknesses or medications are most susceptible to heat illness – these temperatures affect everyone.
    — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 17 July 2026
  • At the end of the day, both doctors agree that hotel stays shouldn’t deter people from traveling altogether, since there are always ways to proactively minimize exposure and subsequent sicknesses.
    — Joey Skladany, Travel + Leisure, 30 June 2026
Definition of sicknesses
Noun
  • As the index fluctuates with market conditions, your mortgage rate can change as well.
    — Rebecca Safier, USA Today, 6 Sep. 2026
  • In his exquisitely layered seventh feature, Possible Love (Ga-neung-han sa-rang), Lee Chang-dong’s humanistic observational skills remain at their peak, the acuity of his insights into emotional lives and social conditions unparalleled.
    — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026
Definition of conditions
Noun
  • Both were found to have respiratory issues and fevers of a hundred and one.
    — Ruby Cramer, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • How can parents prevent their children from bringing home sniffles, coughs and fevers?
    — Hali Smith, Idaho Statesman, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of fevers

Browse Nearby Words

ailment
ailments
ails
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Cite this Entry

“Ailments.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ailments. Accessed 16 Sep. 2026.

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