1
as in fragile
chronically or repeatedly suffering from poor health
when his ailing wife had to go to a nursing home, he visited her every day
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in sick
temporarily suffering from a disorder of the body
he was ailing from some sort of infection in his eye that made it look all red and puffy
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in bothering
to trouble the mind of; to make uneasy
parents who were at a loss to explain what was ailing their normally vivacious daughter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of ailing
Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Dunlap, whose father was a state senator in Minnesota, already had three children at home when he was approached by Westerberg to take over for the ailing Bob Stinson.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2024
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2024
Earlier in the year, James missed two games by taking a week away from the team to heal his ailing left foot and reset mentally.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ailing 
Adjective
Earlier in the year, James missed two games by taking a week away from the team to heal his ailing left foot and reset mentally.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
Dunlap, whose father was a state senator in Minnesota, already had three children at home when he was approached by Westerberg to take over for the ailing Bob Stinson.
—Spin Staff, SPIN, 18 Dec. 2024
Verb
Avery Russell Deckhand, Below Deck S8 The first crew member to leave after only one day and the only one to do so voluntarily, Avery returned home before the season even started to be with his ailing grandmother.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 31 Dec. 2024
Earlier in the year, James missed two games by taking a week away from the team to heal his ailing left foot and reset mentally.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 30 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for ailing
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ailing
Adjective
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Michigan’s situation was particularly fragile given Harbaugh’s long-running flirtations with the NFL, so perhaps Ohio State will have more time to bask in the championship afterglow.—
Austin Meek,
The Athletic,
22 Jan. 2025
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Nashville, in taking control of the game against the fragile Sharks, scored twice in 53 seconds midway through the second period and added three more goals in the first 8:09 of the third.—
Curtis Pashelka,
The Mercury News,
22 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Most cases were blamed on direct contact with sick animals, except for three that have befuddled investigators who failed to identify a likely source.—
Alexander Tin,
CBS News,
28 Jan. 2025
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Bennett collected samples of the mold and started feeling terribly sick during her research.—
Elizabeth Hernandez,
The Denver Post,
27 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Rodin Cars The big idea behind Rodin is to build cars without bothering about vehicle regulations – in stark contrast to F1 cars, which are subject to several rules around how they're put together.—
New Atlas,
New Atlas,
2 Jan. 2025
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The city and state have also been ramping up efforts to engage troubled vagrants sleeping and sometimes bothering straphangers, connecting them with services and shelter and potentially involuntary treatment.—
New York Daily News Editorial Board,
New York Daily News,
27 Dec. 2024
Adjective
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Both the United States and the United Nations have stepped back from leadership roles, a reflection of how poorly interventions in Haiti have gone and also the wide range of issues in other parts of the world at the moment.—
Adam Taylor,
Washington Post,
7 Mar. 2024
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Story will be a free agent and at this stage why would an accomplished player stay with the poorly run Rockies?—
BostonGlobe.com,
BostonGlobe.com,
27 Mar. 2021
Adjective
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According to Mayo Clinic, signs include weight gain in the face, a fatty hump between a person's shoulders, a rounded face, pink or purple stretch marks on the skin, acne, slow wound healing and thin, frail skin that bruises easily.—
Taijuan Moorman,
USA TODAY,
23 Jan. 2025
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At the Plantation Nursing and Rehabilitation Center on Northwest Fifth Street, frail men and women with wheelchairs, walkers, and hearing aids live out their last years in an institutional setting.—
Carol Marbin Miller,
Miami Herald,
17 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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Bankers, who often complain that uncertainty is bad for business, are now willing to try all sorts of deals to see what will work.—
Andrew Ross Sorkin,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
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Daily How Nike’s new CEO plans to rebound from its worst year ever Sheryl Estrada NewslettersTerm Sheet Yan-David Erlich, former Weights and Biases executive, joins B Capital as general partner Allie Garfinkle NewslettersData Sheet The key to Netflix’s blowout earnings?—
Brit Morse,
Fortune,
23 Jan. 2025
Adjective
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To see the sun so diminished, so pale and sickly in the midwinter sky, was unnerving.—
Ross Andersen,
The Atlantic,
11 Jan. 2025
-
The first one is the tiny avian corpse of Joey, the sickly baby crow Sunny adopted against Suzie’s wishes and tried to nurse back to health in episode five.—
Chris Klimek,
Vulture,
28 Aug. 2024
Adjective
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President Donald Trump’s threats aimed at strong-arming Moscow into ending its war in Ukraine have been badly received by some politicians and nationalists in Russia who say his tactics bode ill for a deal.—
Reuters,
NBC News,
23 Jan. 2025
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Turkeys and chickens typically become severely ill and die soon after they are infected.—
Emily Anthes,
New York Times,
23 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near ailing
Cite this Entry
“Ailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ailing. Accessed 1 Feb. 2025.
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