ail

A1I1L1
/ˈeɪ̯l/[ˈeɪ̯l]

verb

To cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)

“Have some chicken soup. It's good for what ails you.”

Similar
garlictroublepain
OriginMiddle English eilen ← Old English eġlan ← Proto-West Germanic *aglijan →
Less commonScrabble 3
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

ail1

verbail (third-person singular simple present ails, present participle ailing, simple past and past participle ailed)

present singular third person ails · participle present ailing · participle past ailed · past ailed

  1. transitiveTo cause to suffer; to trouble, afflict. (Now chiefly in interrogative or indefinite constructions.)

    Have some chicken soup. It's good for what ails you.

    2 more examples

    What aileth thee, Hagar?

    1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 21:17

    Not content with having in 1996 put a Defence of Marriage Act (DOMA) on the statue book, Congress has now begun to hold hearings on a Respect for Marriage Act. Defended, respected: what could possibly ail marriage in America?

    2011, “Connubial bliss in America”, in The Economist
  2. intransitiveTo be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.

    When he ails ever so little […] he is so peevish.

    1740, Samuel Richardson, Pamela; or, Virtue Rewarded
nounail (plural ails)

plural ails

  1. obsoleteAn ailment; trouble; illness.

ail2

adjectiveail (comparative ailer or more ail, superlative ailest or most ail)

comparative ailer · comparative more ail · superlative ailest · superlative most ail

  1. obsoletePainful; troublesome.

ail3

nounail (plural ails)

plural ails · alternative ile

  1. West CountryThe awn of barley or other types of corn.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounaromatic bulb used as seasoning

Similar
garlic
Broader
flavorerflavourerflavoring

verbcause bodily suffering to and make sick or indisposed

Similar
troublepain
Broader
hurt
Also see
fall illgarlicpaintrouble

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

ail · verb, noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*aglijaną“to trouble, vex”
  2. Proto-West Germanic*aglijan
  3. Old Englisheġlan
  4. Middle Englisheilen
  5. Englishail

Inherited from Middle English eilen, from Old English eġlan, eġlian (“to trouble, afflict”), from Proto-West Germanic *aglijan, from Proto-Germanic *aglijaną (“to trouble, vex”), cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌾𐌰𐌽 (agljan, “to distress”).

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-West Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

ail · adjective

  1. Old Englisheġle“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”
  2. Middle Englisheyle
  3. Englishail

Inherited from Middle English eyle, eile, from Old English eġle (“hideous, loathsome, hateful, horrid, troublesome, grievous, painful”). Cognate with Gothic 𐌰𐌲𐌻𐌿𐍃 (aglus, “hard, difficult”).

More words from Middle English, Old English

Full word history & related roots →

ail · noun

  1. Proto-Germanic*agilō“awn”
  2. Old Englisheġl“an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote”
  3. Middle Englisheile
  4. Englishail

Inherited from Middle English eile, eyle, eiȝle, from Old English eġl (“an ail; awn; beard of barley; mote”), from Proto-Germanic *agilō (“awn”), related to *ahaz (“ear (of grain)”). Cognate with German Achel, Egel, Ägel.

More words from Middle English, Old English, Proto-Germanic

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Ancient Greek νοσέω
  • νοσέω (noséō)to be ill
Arabic عَذَّبَ
  • عَذَّبَ (ʕaḏḏaba)to cause to suffer
Bulgarian боли, безпокои
  • боли (boli)to cause to suffer
  • безпокои (bezpokoi)to cause to suffer
  • болен съм (bolen săm)to be ill
  • неразположен съм (nerazpoložen săm)to be ill
  • болка (bolka)An ailment; trouble; illness
  • болест (bolest)An ailment; trouble; illness
Czech trápit
  • trápitto cause to suffer
Dutch schelen, mankeren
  • schelento cause to suffer
  • mankerento cause to suffer
  • ziek zijnto be ill
  • iets mankerento be ill
  • sukkelento be ill
Esperanto ĉagreni
  • ĉagrenito cause to suffer
Finnish vaivata, sairastaa
  • vaivatato cause to suffer
  • sairastaato be ill
  • vaivaAn ailment; trouble; illness
French manquer, faillir
  • manquerto cause to suffer
  • faillirto cause to suffer
  • être maladeto be ill
  • souffrirto be ill
German weh tun, plagen
  • weh tunto cause to suffer
  • plagento cause to suffer
  • kränklich seinto be ill
  • leidento be ill
  • krank seinto be ill
  • kränkelnto be ill
  • KrankheitAn ailment; trouble; illness
  • LeidenAn ailment; trouble; illness
Hungarian betegeskedik
  • betegeskedikto be ill
Italian affliggere
  • affliggereto cause to suffer
Latvian sirgt, liga
  • sirgtto be ill
  • ligaAn ailment; trouble; illness
Portuguese afligir, estar doente/aflito
  • afligirto cause to suffer
  • estar doente/aflitoto be ill
Romanian a boli
  • a bolito be ill
Russian трево́жить, беспоко́ить
  • трево́жить (trevóžitʹ)to cause to suffer
  • беспоко́ить (bespokóitʹ)to cause to suffer
  • боле́ть (bolétʹ)to be ill
  • недомога́ть (nedomogátʹ)to be ill
Slovak trápiť
  • trápiťto cause to suffer
Spanish aquejar, afligir
  • aquejarto cause to suffer
  • afligirto cause to suffer
  • padecerto be ill
  • adolecerto be ill
  • enfermedadAn ailment; trouble; illness

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with ail

emailmailretailscaledetailfailtrailthumbnailtailtaledalejailyalepalegalesailavailbailvalealeGailhalehailvail
All rhymes →

Sounds the same

aleayelaleayelaleayelaleayel

Anagrams

AlilaiIla
Cite this entry
APA

ail. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ail

MLA

“ail.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ail. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “ail,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/ail.

Source: ail on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.