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.
Relatedly, it has seemed Pinterest always has an area of advertiser demand that’s ailing just enough to curb growth.
From Barron's • Jun. 18, 2026
Whatever the case, an ailing housing market is not going to get well anytime soon.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 16, 2026
Bank Indonesia already delivered an emergency rate hike to bolster the ailing rupiah, and markets will be keen to see if it does so again.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
All to communicate that this was a vigorous, healthy man of action, not an ailing drunkard.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
As the program developed, however, it was more like a coup de grace for an already ailing district.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
