ailing

American  

[ey-ling] / ˈeɪ lɪŋ /

adjective

1. sickly; unwell.

2. unsound or troubled.

   a financially ailing corporation.

---

ailing British  

/ ˈeɪlɪŋ /

adjective

1. unwell or unsuccessful

---

Etymology

Origin of ailing

First recorded in 1590–1600; ail + -ing ²

Explanation

Someone who's ailing is sick. You might visit your ailing grandmother in the hospital. You can use the adjective ailing to describe someone who's very ill, or use it figuratively, to talk about "our ailing economy," or "the ailing school system." The next time you call in sick to work, you might say, "I can't come in today — I'm afraid I'm ailing." Ailing comes from the verb ail, "trouble or afflict," from the Old English eglan, "to trouble, plague, or pain."

Example Sentences

In 2009, after petitioning the court to have her ailing father placed under a conservatorship, Catherine was permitted to visit Peter Falk, who was suffering from dementia.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

They are causes she believes strongly in - hence the car tyre fix for her ailing shoes that was sourced by the side of the road.

From BBC • Apr. 27, 2026

Reiche, together with cabinet colleagues, including the defense minister, has been pushing to transform ailing manufacturing companies into defense contractors.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 20, 2026

It showed the 79-year-old clad in a white robe and papal-red cape, a divine light emanating from the palm of one hand while the other hand was placed on an ailing man.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

The gentle snow gully Fischer and Lopsang had been gingerly descending ended here amid outcroppings of loose, steep shale, and Fischer, like Gau, was unable to handle the challenging terrain in his ailing condition.

From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer

Related Words

• diseased
• feeble
• ill
• sickly
• weak