Synonyms of ails

ails 1 of 2

noun

plural of ail

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

• ailments
• diseases
• ills
• illnesses
• sicknesses
• conditions
• fevers
• disorders
• maladies
• infections
• infirmities
• bugs
• attacks
• complications
• distempers
• troubles
• plagues
• complaints
• distemperatures
• affections
• weaknesses
• contagious diseases
• contagions
• debilities
• malaises
• spells
• fits
• bouts
• matters
• epidemics
• contagia
• decrepitudes
• pests
• pips
• pestilences

ails

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of ail

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

• bothers
• worries
• concerns
• disturbs
• distracts
• alarms
• plagues
• distresses
• angers
• haunts
• unsettles
• agitates
• upsets
• distempers
• dismays
• discomforts
• annoys
• disquiets
• irritates
• unhinges
• derails
• undoes
• perturbs
• confuses
• exercises
• aggravates
• frazzles
• exasperates
• fusses
• vexes
• rattles
• discomposes
• embarrasses
• freaks (out)
• bugs
• irks
• bedevils
• riles
• weirds out
• flurries
• hagrides
• piques
• chafes
• harasses
• harries
• pesters
• peeves
• galls
• frets
• discourages
• grates
• nettles
• discomfits
• mortifies
• flusters
• confounds
• disconcerts
• daunts
• disheartens
• fazes
• gets
• dispirits
• demoralizes
• puts off
• unnerves
• puts out
• jars
• chivies
• discountenances
• shakes up
• abashes
• nonpluses

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• soothes
• calms
• settles
• quiets
• composes
• alleviates
• allays
• assuages
• tranquilizes
• appeases
• pacifies
• placates
• mollifies
• propitiates
• conciliates

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of ails

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

While the bulk of the research centers on macroeconomic issues and the constriction in the major studio space, the study also provides a sobering look at what ails the indie film sector. — Brent Lang, IndieWire, 19 Aug. 2026

Too many subjects of this wheezing colonial empire want a proximity to Blackness without any responsibility for what ails Black people. — Literary Hub, 17 Aug. 2026

Dave Dombrowski summoned his assistants, scouts and analysts — everyone and anyone — for daytime meetings followed by a ritual watching of whatever the latest thing is that ails this team. — Matt Gelb, New York Times, 1 Aug. 2026

Prescribing Tylenol to a patient who continually complains of back pain will not necessarily solve what ails them. — Chris Adams, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026

America at 250 seems stuck in a miasma of rival populisms that offer irreconcilable visions for curing what ails our country. — Will Marshall, Washington Post, 18 July 2026

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