as in ailments
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
half of the staff is out sick with the usual wintertime ails
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in bothers
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Recent Examples of ails
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
1 Sep. 2025
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
12 June 2026
Because the World Cup should be a temporary antidote to all that ails us.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
10 June 2026
Look into it—there's probably something that aims to ease whatever ails you.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
Often, knowing what ails a patient is necessary but not sufficient for determining how to care for them.
—
Andrew Parsons,
The Conversation,
1 June 2026
Smith is hyper-focused on attacking these practices, and not trying to fix everything that ails the Jets all at once.
—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Perhaps Team Lee is right that AI is the miracle cure for all that ails his economy.
—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
What ails Los Angeles County Foot traffic took a hit last summer.
—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2026
Vladar can get a few extra days off to rest whatever ails him if the Flyers build off their 5-2 win in Game 3 and complete the sweep Saturday in Philadelphia.
—
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
City may well have believed that a summer break would cure their ails and time would simply consign last season’s mid-season collapse to room 101, but the rest of the league does not forget.
—
Jordan Campbell,
New York Times,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
Is gerontocracy the right diagnosis for what ails us?
—
Joshua Rothman,
New Yorker,
12 June 2026
Because the World Cup should be a temporary antidote to all that ails us.
—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
10 June 2026
Look into it—there's probably something that aims to ease whatever ails you.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
3 June 2026
Often, knowing what ails a patient is necessary but not sufficient for determining how to care for them.
—
Andrew Parsons,
The Conversation,
1 June 2026
Smith is hyper-focused on attacking these practices, and not trying to fix everything that ails the Jets all at once.
—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
29 May 2026
Perhaps Team Lee is right that AI is the miracle cure for all that ails his economy.
—
William Pesek,
Forbes.com,
28 May 2026
What ails Los Angeles County Foot traffic took a hit last summer.
—
Andrew J. Campa,
Los Angeles Times,
17 May 2026
Vladar can get a few extra days off to rest whatever ails him if the Flyers build off their 5-2 win in Game 3 and complete the sweep Saturday in Philadelphia.
—
CBS News,
23 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ails
Noun
-
Peterson had a chaotic lone season with the Jayhawks, filled with various injuries and ailments, but remained in contention for a top-3 pick the entire year.
-
While Durant became one of the NBA’s most elite scorers of all time, Oden lasted only three NBA seasons amid numerous ailments.
Verb
-
What bothers me is the foot-dragging, the spinning in circles, the slow degradation of these characters into annoying stereotypes.
-
What bothers me is the implication of a Labubu National Team full of these things.
Noun
-
Erika Anderson is a postdoctoral scholar at UC San Francisco harnessing molecular biology to better understand the development of diseases.
-
Health scores indicate how well a country keeps its people alive and well, like whether children are born and stay healthy, whether adults live long lives and if the incidence of preventable diseases is kept low.
Verb
-
That question is exactly what worries the people who keep it alive.
-
What worries me most isn’t that AI will become smarter than humans.
Noun
-
In the winter of 1920, the United States entered Prohibition in the United States after years of campaigning by temperance groups who believed alcohol sat at the root of many social ills.
-
On this near-ideal night, all the ills of the past few years faded away, and an era — or at least a month — of real ambition began.
Verb
-
The pact also fails to address Iran’s missile program and its network of proxy militant groups – concerns many Gulf states consider more immediate than Tehran’s nuclear activities.
-
However, the most noteworthy information in the report concerns the Florida spaceport, where demand from SpaceX’s Starship and Blue Origin’s New Glenn launch vehicles is expected to stress NASA.
Noun
-
Oura rings are beloved for their ability to track steps, monitor sleep, and even catch illnesses before symptoms begin.
-
Older adults and young children are most sensitive to extreme heat, as are people who are pregnant, overweight, have disabilities or chronic illnesses.
Verb
-
Tilling or plowing in the summer disturbs the soil's delicate ecosystem and exposes moist soil to rapid water loss.
-
The pier in Michigan City’s Washington Park disturbs the natural flow of sand along the lakeshore, creating new land east of the pier but starving beaches to the west, an erosion problem repeated by other manmade structures that jut out into Lake Michigan.
Cite this Entry
“Ails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ails. Accessed 1 Jul. 2026.
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