ail
Americanverb (used with object)
-
ails,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ailed,
past participle, past
-
ailing
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
ails,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ailed,
past participle, past
-
ailing
present participle
verb
-
(tr) to trouble; afflict
-
(intr) to feel unwell
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ailsimple
-
ailssimple
-
have ailedperfect
-
has ailedperfect
-
am ailingprogressive
-
are ailingprogressive
-
is ailingprogressive
-
have been ailingperfect progressive
-
has been ailingperfect progressive
Past
-
ailedsimple
-
had ailedperfect
-
was ailingprogressive
-
were ailingprogressive
-
had been ailingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ail
before 950; Middle English ail, eilen, Old English eglan to afflict (cognate with Middle Low German egelen annoy, Gothic -agljan ), derivative of egle painful; akin to Gothic agls shameful, Sanskrit aghám evil, pain
Explanation
The verb ail means to be sick or unwell — or cause to be so. If you feel a general malaise, someone may ask what ails you, though you may just need a vacation from work or school. The verb ail is used for things that are metaphorically unwell or unhealthy. Politicians, for example, will often tell their constituents that the only cure for what ails the country is to vote for them. Ail is used when referring to non-specific illnesses. So you are sick with the flu, or troubled by allergies, but you are not ailing because you know what's wrong. It's when you're sick but it hasn't been diagnosed that you are ailing.
Vocabulary lists containing ail
Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 2
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Novel Study: The Crucible, Act 1
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Wolf Hollow
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Gies, who is around 60, said his motivation for creating Madison Air was his realization that “indoor air quality was horrible,” according to a Ret ail Roadshow.com presentation External link.
From Barron's ● Apr. 15, 2026
She chops old vanilla beans, mixes them with epsom salts, adds a splash of vanilla extract, and has bath salts that are wildly aromatic, calming, and good for all that might ail you.
From Salon ● Apr. 19, 2022
But would it solve all the problems that ail our democracy?
From Washington Post ● Mar. 4, 2022
Removing the manager is not the solution to all that has ailed and looks like it will ail the Angels.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2016
“We ought to check that there’s nothing odd about it. I mean, ail these funny instructions, who knows?”
From "Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" by J.K. Rowling
And you kind of need to really love L.A. to really fix what ails it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
Former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani is hospitalized in "critical but stable condition," his spokesman said Sunday, without disclosing what ails the 81-year-old former politician.
From Barron's ● May 3, 2026
Inexorably, Mr. McCarthy drives toward the view that what ails American men is the macho belief that men should always have their guard up, never complaining or revealing what’s going on inside.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 14, 2026
Still, a strong sequel has often proved a cure for what ails Hollywood, and the Thanksgiving weekend was no exception.
From MarketWatch ● Dec. 1, 2025
“I am not a benefactor,” he said, “nor a lord. What ails you?”
From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya
Maybe they thought that what ailed the Florida citrus could be cured with a little private-equity magic.
From Slate ● Apr. 20, 2026
For Belichick, they say, it's part love of the game, part love for coaching, and part an affliction that has ailed many great sports figures: an inability to know when to say goodbye.
From BBC ● Jan. 28, 2026
The cybersecurity company’s earnings and revenue forecast met analysts’ expectations but f ailed to impress investors.
From Barron's ● Nov. 20, 2025
It was the cure-all for every economic pain that ailed us.
From Salon ● Feb. 3, 2025
He gave up; the false cat had ceased functioning, so evidently the short—if that was what ailed the thing—had finished off the power supply and basic drive-train.
From "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" by Philip K. Dick
It’s common for people to move closer to ailing relatives.
From Salon ● Aug. 20, 2026
When Zhou died in January 1976, hundreds of thousands of mourners poured into Tiananmen Square with wreaths and poems, a spontaneous outpouring that the ailing Mao’s allies saw as a challenge to their authority.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Healthcare provider Kaiser Permanente said it will give ailing Martin Luther King Jr. Community Hospital a $25-million grant to help expand its overcrowded emergency department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
An ailing fund managed by KKR lost 6.55% over the past 12 months through June, a slight improvement from its 9.17% loss in the prior period.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
Not the dead of sick and ailing with friends at the pillow and the feet.
From "Their Eyes Were Watching God" by Zora Neale Hurston
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
