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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of ail¹

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

Example Sentences

Accordingly, much the same way that the shareholders may not easily get to know all that is ailing a publicly traded company, we also, by default, know very little about exactly what each atom or molecule on the planet is doing.

From Nautilus

A former colleague described how Redfield, a devout Catholic, prayed with the ailing Elijah Cummings, a Democratic congressman from Baltimore, during a visit to the Capitol.

From ProPublica

To a crowd that included Mary Hamblet and her ailing mother, Grammie, Mabelle served baked shad and jellied salad, apple crisp, and the homemade graham bread — molasses-sweet and impossibly light — that was famous among her friends.

From Eater

Because he was placed on the list, Tanvir also claims that he was unable to fly to see his ailing mother in Pakistan and that he had to quit a job as a long-haul trucker because he could no longer fly home to New York after a one-way delivery.

From Vox

The Postal Service responded to OSHA that it traces contacts of all employees who test positive and encourages ailing employees to stay home.

From ProPublica

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

From The Daily Beast

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• afflict
• bother