ailing
Americanadjective
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sickly; unwell.
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unsound or troubled.
a financially ailing corporation.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of ailing
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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2019, Ed was ailing, and Val was incapacitated.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Hoppock said Estelle was detained on a layover, as she traveled home from visiting her ailing father in France.
From Salon • May 14, 2026
But unless, by some miracle, Luka Doncic’s ailing hamstring is healed by Game 2 on Thursday, the Thunder are just much too much for these Lakers.
From Los Angeles Times • May 6, 2026
Volkswagen's future is at risk without further cost-cuts, the ailing German auto giant warned Thursday after profits plunged more than feared as headwinds mount.
From Barron's • Apr. 30, 2026
Some of the dogs had begun ailing, and this caused a great deal of anxiety for their drivers.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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.
