ailment

noun

ail·​ment ˈāl-mənt 

1

: a bodily disorder or chronic disease

a stomach ailment

2

: unrest, uneasiness

an emotional ailment

Synonyms

• affection
• ail
• bug
• complaint
• complication
• condition
• disease
• disorder
• distemper
• distemperature
• fever
• ill
• illness
• infirmity
• malady
• sickness
• trouble

Examples of ailment in a Sentence

She suffered from a chronic back ailment.

The doctor treated him for a variety of ailments.

Recent Examples on the Web

Vlasic is dealing with an upper-body ailment, and Mukhamadullin and Askarov have lower-body injuries. —Curtis Pashelka, The Mercury News, 24 Sep. 2024

Dad’s suffering through some ailments, too, but tells Aaron not to worry. —Dave Nemetz, TVLine, 17 Sep. 2024

Advertisement Glasnow also missed time because of other ailments, including an oblique strain at the start of last year. —Jack Harris, Los Angeles Times, 14 Sep. 2024

Various chronic health disorders can cause hypertonic dehydration, overexposure to heat and excess sweating, and other ailments, such as diarrhea or vomiting. —Angelica Bottaro, Verywell Health, 11 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

ail entry 1 + -ment

First Known Use

1606, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

ailment

noun

ail·​ment ˈāl-mənt 

: a bodily disorder : sickness

Medical Definition

ailment

noun

ail·​ment ˈā(ə)l-mənt 

: a bodily disorder or chronic disease