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
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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
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Recent Examples of ails
Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 1 Sep. 2025
Hena Bryan, Refinery29, 26 Aug. 2025
No, this is not an instant fix for everything that ails Bungie.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Yordan Alvarez’s potential return by the end of this week does offer hope for a turnaround, but Alvarez can’t mask everything that ails this teetering team.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
But Buttigieg might not provide the cure for what ails the party, political observers say.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 1 Aug. 2025
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
Naming what ails you is not the same as overcoming it.
—Hena Bryan, Refinery29, 26 Aug. 2025
No, this is not an instant fix for everything that ails Bungie.
—Paul Tassi, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
Yordan Alvarez’s potential return by the end of this week does offer hope for a turnaround, but Alvarez can’t mask everything that ails this teetering team.
—Chandler Rome, New York Times, 21 Aug. 2025
But Buttigieg might not provide the cure for what ails the party, political observers say.
—Amie Parnes, The Hill, 1 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ails
Noun
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Practitioners and patients alike have realized that there is no magical pill that treats all ailments for everyone.—
Jason Phillips,
USA Today,
12 Sep. 2025
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Quarterback Brock Purdy has shoulder and toe ailments and will sit out at least the next two games.—
Robert Marvi,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Why ban books, Postman asked, if no one bothers to read them?—
Time,
Time,
10 Sep. 2025
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What bothers her most is how the refusal seemed to change her brother’s behavior.—
Ashley Vega,
PEOPLE,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Parents will be especially alarmed and this will place terrible burdens on pediatricians who will need to assuage their worries in order to provide important protections against serious and sometimes fatal diseases.—
Jasmine Laws,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
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Nurabot is currently being piloted in Taichung Veterans General Hospital in Taiwan, on a ward that treats diseases associated with the lungs, face and neck, including lung cancer and asthma.—
Rebecca Cairns,
CNN Money,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
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But Huang worries changes to the combination vaccine recommendations could cause confusion and impact vaccination rates, leading to more disease outbreaks, like the measles outbreak that occurred in West Texas.—
Adrianna Rodriguez,
USA Today,
18 Sep. 2025
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Jetelina worries that the mixed messages, combined with Kennedy’s anti-vaccine signaling, will decrease confidence in vaccines.—
Yasmin Tayag,
The Atlantic,
17 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Held at the Abrons Arts Center, a core program within the Henry Street Settlement, Bittar created his vision of a Nineties-era beauty pageant in a commentary reflecting current-day societal ills, primarily aimed at the LGBTQ community, notably trans women and women in general.—
Roxanne Robinson,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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One dares to hope that Hollywood, for all its current ills, may finally be turning a corner, reverting back to when new ideas were held at a premium.—
Richard Lawson,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The controversy, which concerns an endorsement deal Kawhi Leonard signed with Clippers’ sponsor Aspiration, has been discussed extensively.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
10 Sep. 2025
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The central story in the film concerns Scott Page, a gay man who helped broker viaticum deals.—
The New Yorker,
New Yorker,
10 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Children suffering from malnutrition can be more susceptible to contracting other illnesses, and children with preexisting conditions can be more vulnerable to becoming malnourished, experts say.—
Pablo Robles,
New York Times,
14 Sep. 2025
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Childhood illnesses had severely weakened her own heart.—
Ruchi Kumar,
NPR,
14 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Molina, who is fascinated by silver screen legend Ingrid Luna (Jennifer Lopez), distracts himself and Valentín with a recounting of his favorite film of hers — The Kiss of the Spider Woman.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Sep. 2025
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But Democratic leaders said the plan distracts from more urgent legislative priorities and is unlikely to move forward.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
29 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Ails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ails. Accessed 19 Sep. 2025.
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