ailment
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ailment
Explanation
If you've got a rash or a persistent cough, you can call that an ailment. Some other common ailments are allergies or chronic headaches. They can be a real pain. Literally. The word ailment comes from the Old English eglan meaning "to trouble, plague, afflict," and the suffix -ment from the Latin mentum, which when added to the end of word describing an action turns that word into the result of that action. So the result of something that troubles, plagues or afflicts you is an ailment — a pain or discomfort that just doesn't seem to go away.
Vocabulary lists containing ailment
Chains
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The Last Last-Day-of-Summer
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The Fault in Our Stars
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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.
Manufacturers are prohibited from making claims about treating or preventing disease, but influencers have sold the idea that buying the right products can fend off or cure almost any ailment.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
The medical term for my ailment is an asymmetrical gluteal cleft, though requests to fix it are far less common than those to eliminate cellulite, flatten the tummy, or augment the breasts.
From Slate • Feb. 22, 2026
The longer he spent recording guitar parts for “Megadeth,” the more his ailment interfered with his playing.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026
Joe Abah, a former boss of Nigeria's Bureau of Public Service Reforms, claimed on social media platform X how a private hospital in the capital, Abuja, urged him to undergo immediate surgery for an ailment.
From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026
Mr. Haber opened the show with the announcement that Anna May Wong would not be participating, as she had been overtaken by an ailment.
From "The Red Car to Hollywood" by Jennie Liu
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.
