ailment

Meanings

1. 1nouncountable

   A health problem, usually a mild or long-lasting one that is not a serious danger.

   Grammar: A countable noun: a minor ailment, several ailments.

   Patterns

   • suffer from an ailment
   • an ailment of something

   Grandma complained about a series of minor ailments.

   The herbal tea claims to cure common ailments.

   He stayed home with a mysterious stomach ailment.

2. 2nouncountablefigurative

   A problem or weakness in something other than a person, such as a system or institution.

   Grammar: Figurative, with a modifier: economic ailments.

   Patterns

   • the ailments of something

   The report listed the ailments of the school system.

   Slow growth is only one of the economy's many ailments.

Word forms

Common combinations

minor ailment

A pharmacist can treat many minor ailments.

common ailment

Colds are the most common ailment in winter.

chronic ailment

He lives with a chronic ailment of the joints.

suffer from an ailment

Many sailors once suffered from scurvy, a serious ailment.

cure an ailment

No pill can cure every ailment.

stomach ailment

A stomach ailment kept her in bed.

Synonyms and how they differ

illness

Illness is wider and can be serious, while ailment often sounds lighter.

complaint

Complaint is a medical word for a condition people report, with a plainer tone.

disorder

Disorder suggests a medical diagnosis with a clear pattern of symptoms.

malady

Malady is old-fashioned and literary.

Opposites

Word family

ail verb

to cause trouble or pain, or to be unwell

ailing adjective

unwell, or in poor condition

ailment noun

a mild health problem

unailing adjective

rare, free from sickness

Commonly confused: ailment or alignment? ailment or element?

Practice

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