ail

1 of 2

verb

ˈāl

ailed; ailing; ails

Synonyms of ail next

transitive verb

: to give physical or emotional pain, discomfort, or trouble to

His back has been ailing him.

It's good for what ails you.

What's ailing you?

intransitive verb

: to have something the matter

an ailing economy

especially : to suffer ill health

She has been ailing for years.

ail

2 of 2

Examples of ail in a Sentence

Noun half of the staff is out sick with the usual wintertime ails

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Bruno’s main accomplishment is turning the ailing French automobile industry into a force capable of making luxury cars that are competitive with Germany’s. —

Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 24 Oct. 2024 Ortberg warned on Wednesday there was no quick fix for the ailing planemaker. —

Daniel Catchpole, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024

Noun

Shake off all the ails you, if only for three minutes and 16 seconds, with this absolute party of a disco track by Parisian producer Dan Ghenacia. —

Billboard Staff, Billboard, 13 Sep. 2024 What’s more, the age-old phrase the team’s fans have used to describe Detroit’s recent ails – ‘SOL’ or same old Lions – seems to have been banished for now. —

Ben Morse, CNN, 17 Feb. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ail

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'ail.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English eilen, eilien "to trouble, afflict, affect (with animate or inanimate agent), be troubled, affected," going back to Old English eglan, eglian "to torment, afflict (with animate or inanimate agent)," going back to Germanic *agljan- (whence also Norwegian egle "to bait, goad, heckle," Danish dialect [Jutland] egle "to goad," [Bornholm] ägla "to scold," Gothic agljan, translating Greek bláptein "to harm, hurt"), of uncertain origin

Note: The Germanic etymon has been compared with an assortment of words inside and outside Germanic, most immediately and unarguably with Old English egle "grievous, painful, loathsome, horrible," Gothic agls, attested only as neuter singular agl, translating Greek aischrós "causing shame, disgraceful," and Gothic aglo, translating Greek thlípsis "tribulation." These have been compared further with Sanskrit agháḥ "evil, bad," Avestan aγa-, and Greek áchnymai, achnýnai "to grieve, lament," áchos "pain, distress." All these have been taken as progeny of an Indo-European base *h₂eg^h-, hypothetically "distress, fear," connected further with Old English ege "fear, terror," Gothic agis, Old Norse agi (see awe entry 1). However, the semantic link between the basic Germanic set (exemplified by Old English eglan and egle) and the other words is tenuous.

Noun

Middle English eil "harm, trouble," perhaps in part going back to an Old English noun *ægl, *ægle, n-stem noun cognate with Gothic aglo "tribulation," derivative of a Germanic adjective agla-, whence Old English egle "grievous, painful"; in part noun derivative of Middle English eilen "to trouble, afflict" and eile "harmful, grievous" (continuing Old English egle) — more at ail entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of ail was before the 12th century

See more words from the same century

Cite this Entry

Style

“Ail.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ail. Accessed 3 Nov. 2024.

Copy Citation

Kids Definition

ail

verb

ˈāl

: to be the matter with : trouble

what ails you?

: to have something the matter

especially : to suffer ill health

has been ailing for years

Medical Definition

ail

transitive verb

ˈā(ə)l

: to affect with a disease or physical or emotional pain or discomfort

what ails the patient

intransitive verb

: to become affected with pain or discomfort : to suffer ill health

was ailing from a cold

Last Updated: 29 Oct 2024 - Updated example sentences

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ail

verb

noun

Synonyms

Examples of ail in a Sentence

Word History

Dictionary Entries Near ail

Cite this Entry

Kids Definition

Medical Definition