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
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Recent Examples of ails
Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2025
Usa Today Network, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2026
What ails her is not clear, but someone has a hint.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026
But even if nothing ails you, take the waters anyway.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 31 Mar. 2026
Providing service to others seems like a good cure for what ails us today — a true lack of altruism and looking out for each other regardless of race, gender or religion, etc.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
For what ails these Timberwolves, Anderson may just be the antidote.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 27 Feb. 2026
No amount of what-ifs, however, will fix what ails USC during its final three games.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
In the story of how the United States of America came together for the first time, On This Day…1776 has the cure for what ails us.
—Karl Vick, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
At their best, these shows are a mirror for what ails society, typically delivered with a heaping side of melodrama and romance.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 29 Jan. 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
If that's the case, though, the food will cure what ails you.
—Usa Today Network, USA Today, 17 Apr. 2026
What ails her is not clear, but someone has a hint.
—Matt Grobar, Deadline, 15 Apr. 2026
But even if nothing ails you, take the waters anyway.
—Elizabeth Heath, Travel + Leisure, 31 Mar. 2026
Providing service to others seems like a good cure for what ails us today — a true lack of altruism and looking out for each other regardless of race, gender or religion, etc.
—Chicago Tribune, 12 Mar. 2026
For what ails these Timberwolves, Anderson may just be the antidote.
—Jace Frederick, Twin Cities, 27 Feb. 2026
No amount of what-ifs, however, will fix what ails USC during its final three games.
—Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
In the story of how the United States of America came together for the first time, On This Day…1776 has the cure for what ails us.
—Karl Vick, Time, 29 Jan. 2026
At their best, these shows are a mirror for what ails society, typically delivered with a heaping side of melodrama and romance.
—David Faris, TheWeek, 29 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ails
Noun
-
Star defensive tackle Nnamdi Madubuike (neck) played in only two games, while quarterback Lamar Jackson missed four games and played through various nagging ailments in others.—
Peter Sblendorio,
New York Daily News,
17 Apr. 2026
-
And as an athlete, I was faced with so many different physical ailments, from muscle soreness, back strains, muscle tears, broken ankles, to my bigger crashes and all of those things.—
Alexa Mikhail,
Flow Space,
16 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His approach is to look at what bothers that person the most.—
Kaicey Baylor,
CBS News,
22 Mar. 2026
-
The political rhetoric aimed at ridiculing Canada bothers Johnson.—
Jeanne Bonner,
CNN Money,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Repeat expansions have been shown in lots of neurological diseases.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Plants growing in crowded conditions with poor air circulation are an ideal breeding ground for fungal diseases to spread.—
Nadia Hassani,
The Spruce,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Jessica Klein, a researcher with the center, worries about the consequences.—
Taylor Sisk,
CBS News,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Drought usually peaks in summer, not spring, and that’s what worries meteorologists.—
Seth Borenstein,
Los Angeles Times,
19 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And this one guy at this one firm can't solve all of his industry's ills.—
Sam Yellowhorse Kesler,
NPR,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Even as professional coders are becoming increasingly enthusiastic about the power of AI coding tools, many end users still see them as a boogeyman to instantly blame for any and all observed ills in the tech industry.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
7 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
This new release, obviously, concerns the latter two innovations.—
Jonah Flicker,
Robb Report,
21 Apr. 2026
-
That history concerns Artemis 1, which sent an uncrewed Orion to lunar orbit and back to Earth in late 2022.—
Mike Wall,
Space.com,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Miyahara is the president and CEO of the San Diego Community Housing Corporation, and Morales-Roth is executive director of the Emilio Nares Foundation, a nonprofit that supports children facing cancer and other life-threatening illnesses.—
Phil Diehl,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
24 Apr. 2026
-
Crawling the walls Orson Welles learned to draw from his mother, who informally homeschooled the budding artist during his childhood, which was marked by grave illnesses including malaria and diphtheria.—
Michelle Duncan,
Architectural Digest,
22 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
The Leo moon disturbs unconscious patterns that are ready to be interrupted.—
USA TODAY,
USA Today,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Removing nodules from the ocean floor disturbs the silty seabed that's home to many organisms, like worms and small crustaceans, the scientists found.—
Lauren Sommer,
NPR,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ails. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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