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View synonyms for ail

ail

[ eyl ]

verb (used with object)

  1. to cause pain, uneasiness, or trouble to:

    Inside our own bodies lies the most powerful cure for what ails us—our immune systems.

    He thinks lowering taxes is the answer to all that ails our economy.

    Synonyms: distress, annoy, bother



verb (used without object)

  1. to be unwell; feel pain; be ill:

    He's been ailing for some time.

ail

/ eɪl /

verb

  1. tr to trouble; afflict
  2. intr to feel unwell
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of ail1

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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of ail1

Old English eglan to trouble, from egle troublesome, painful, related to Gothic agls shameful
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Example Sentences

To love India's culture does not mean you must accept the widespread problems that still ail the country: quite the contrary.

In thought and sound these verses express ail the frightful horror of this desolation.

Ask them what they ail, or who brought them in this stay, They answer not at all, but "alack!"

Sighing and sobbing, they weep and they wail; I marvel in my mind what the devil they ail.

But Rhodes was expecting too much, considering ail the circumstances.

And if you can now be present on ail such occasions, what will you do when you are dead?

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