ailments

noun

plural of ailment
as in diseases
an abnormal state that disrupts a plant's or animal's normal bodily functioning a doctor known for successfully treating patients with chronic back ailments

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ailments But by the first week of September, the Dodgers could no longer argue that his poor performance wasn’t necessarily connected to his ailments. — Maddie Lee, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026 Symptoms of lung cancer can include coughing, shortness of breath, overwhelming fatigue and pain in the back, chest or shoulder, which could be confused for other ailments. — Estelamari Rodriguez, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026 ChatGPT is not your doctor, although most people are already using it to find out more information about their ailments, hypothetical or otherwise. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 13 Oct. 2026 Alongkot later expanded the hospice to offer treatment to people suffering from other serious ailments. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026 Another handful of Panthers injuries to monitor The Panthers also have a few ailments to keep track of during the Week 5 bye. — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 5 Oct. 2026 This puzzle is stuffed with nuance, pleasing crosses and a lot of simply terrific, ridiculously evocative stuff — for example, a jarring assortment of lovely trivia intersecting with some hideous ailments at more than one juncture. — Caitlin Lovinger, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2026 Most of the siblings died of similar ailments, following similar patterns, that experts said could have been resolved with interventions as simple as insulin, antibiotics or a supply of oxygen. — Audrey Dutton, ProPublica, 1 Oct. 2026 Miller, though, who is dealing with hip and back ailments, was downgraded to not participating Thursday after he was limited at Wednesday drills. — David Furones, Sun Sentinel, 24 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ailments
  1. diseases
  2. illnesses
  3. ills
  4. sicknesses
  5. conditions
  6. fevers
Noun
  • Blood tests and biopsies are typically used to study immune biomarkers for skin diseases like psoriasis and vitiligo.
    — Erica Sweeney, Time, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Vaccines have been so successful that many of today’s parents and many young pediatricians have never seen what these diseases can do.
    — CNN Money, CNN Money, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of diseases
Noun
  • Medical schools employ people to portray patients with specific symptoms, emotional reactions and medical histories, giving students a chance to practice everything from diagnosing illnesses to delivering difficult news.
    — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 18 Oct. 2026
  • There were many individuals who appeared before me who had chronic illnesses.
    — Annie Nova, CNBC, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of illnesses
Noun
  • Now, in The Social Reckoning, Sorkin focuses on the ills of the company Facebook eventually became.
    — Eliana Dockterman, Time, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The game’s maker, Paolo Pedercini, has long diagnosed the ills of modern capitalism through countercultural video games like Phone Story (2011), which depicted the exploitative supply chain of a smartphone.
    — Lewis Gordon, New York Times, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of ills
Noun
  • And while children, the elderly and those with certain sicknesses or medications are most susceptible to heat illness – these temperatures affect everyone.
    — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 17 July 2026
  • At the end of the day, both doctors agree that hotel stays shouldn’t deter people from traveling altogether, since there are always ways to proactively minimize exposure and subsequent sicknesses.
    — Joey Skladany, Travel + Leisure, 30 June 2026
Definition of sicknesses
Noun
  • Space Launch Delta 45’s weather squadron forecasts only a 55% chance for good conditions at the launch site as well as listing a moderate-to-high chance of bad conditions for the rocket booster recovery attempt downrange.
    — Richard Tribou, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Oct. 2026
  • The protests, fueled in part by anger over rising living costs, school conditions and public services, erupted into violence Saturday.
    — Sophia Compton, FOXNews.com, 18 Oct. 2026
Definition of conditions
Noun
  • Medications like acetaminophen and ibuprofen can safely reduce body temperature, though acetaminophen is usually the better choice for fevers.
    — Andee Tagle, NPR, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The high fevers brought on by listeria can cause miscarriages and stillbirths in pregnant women who are infected.
    — David J. Neal, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of fevers

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Cite this Entry

“Ailments.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ailments. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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