as in diseases
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning
in the olden days people were always suffering from some unknown malady
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of maladies
One of the oddest maladies of our current TV era has been a desensitization to Nicole Kidman.
—
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026
DeGrom a two-time Cy Young Award winner, also has had surgery on his ulnar nerve in his elbow and missed time due to forearm tightness, among other maladies.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Apr. 2026
But those maladies have nothing against the ones presented in this list—six afflictions that many of us have come to know all too well.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Musgrove’s history of performing well and working through maladies bolsters the Padres’ confidence.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Yet after three straight seasons with identical point totals, 41 apiece, Strome had played in just over half the team’s games this year between injuries, illness and healthy scratches peppered into that mix of maladies.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 7 Mar. 2026
The maladies also come at a time in Cleveland’s schedule where some of its more notable matchups are coming up quite soon.
—Law Murray, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
As hotel values in 2025 rose in Southern California, a slump in Northern California showed a decline that suggests the market remains weighed down by a host of economic maladies, a new report shows.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
More marketers of health and wellness products and services came to the Super Bowl to tout weight loss pills, telehealth services and even getting consumers to take tests that might identify potential maladies.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 8 Feb. 2026
Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 8 Apr. 2026
DeGrom a two-time Cy Young Award winner, also has had surgery on his ulnar nerve in his elbow and missed time due to forearm tightness, among other maladies.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Apr. 2026
But those maladies have nothing against the ones presented in this list—six afflictions that many of us have come to know all too well.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Apr. 2026
Musgrove’s history of performing well and working through maladies bolsters the Padres’ confidence.
—Kevin Acee, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Mar. 2026
Yet after three straight seasons with identical point totals, 41 apiece, Strome had played in just over half the team’s games this year between injuries, illness and healthy scratches peppered into that mix of maladies.
—Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 7 Mar. 2026
The maladies also come at a time in Cleveland’s schedule where some of its more notable matchups are coming up quite soon.
—Law Murray, New York Times, 2 Mar. 2026
As hotel values in 2025 rose in Southern California, a slump in Northern California showed a decline that suggests the market remains weighed down by a host of economic maladies, a new report shows.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 10 Feb. 2026
More marketers of health and wellness products and services came to the Super Bowl to tout weight loss pills, telehealth services and even getting consumers to take tests that might identify potential maladies.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 8 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for maladies
Noun
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Repeat expansions have been shown in lots of neurological diseases.—
Allison Parshall,
Scientific American,
24 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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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
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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
Noun
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And this one guy at this one firm can't solve all of his industry's ills.—
Sam Yellowhorse Kesler,
NPR,
8 Apr. 2026
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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
Noun
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The symptoms of our darkest cultural sicknesses become visible.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Mar. 2026
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From the moment the kids set foot back at school in the fall, until some time around spring break, parents can expect sicknesses to take over their homes faster than the latest viral slang expression.—
Melissa Willets,
Parents,
10 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Maladies.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/maladies. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.
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