Adjacent Words

Ail definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AIL, v.t.
To trouble; to affect with uneasiness, either of body or mind; used to express some uneasiness or affection, whose cause is unknown; as, what ails the man? I know not what ails him.
What aileth thee, Hagar? Genesis 21.
It is never used to express a specific disease. We never say, he ails a pleurisy; but it is unusual to say, he ails something; he ails nothing; nothing ails him.
AIL, n. Indisposition, or morbid affection.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: aromatic bulb used as seasoning [syn: garlic, ail] v
1: be ill or unwell
2: cause bodily suffering to and make sick or indisposed [syn: trouble, ail, pain]

Merriam Webster's

I. verb Etymology: Middle English eilen, from Old English eglan; akin to Gothic agljan to harm Date: before 12th century transitive verb to give physical or emotional pain, discomfort, or trouble to intransitive verb to have something the matter; especially to suffer ill health II. noun Date: 13th century ailment

Oxford Reference Dictionary

v. 1 tr. archaic (only in 3rd person interrog. or indefinite constructions) trouble or afflict in mind or body ( what ails him?). 2 intr. (usu. be ailing) be ill. Etymology: OE egl(i)an f. egle troublesome

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ail Ail ([=a]l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Ailed ([=a]ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Ailing.] [OE. eilen, ailen, AS. eglan to trouble, pain; akin to Goth. us-agljan to distress, agls troublesome, irksome, aglo, aglitha, pain, and prob. to E. awe. [root]3.] To affect with pain or uneasiness, either physical or mental; to trouble; to be the matter with; -- used to express some uneasiness or affection, whose cause is unknown; as, what ails the man? I know not what ails him. What aileth thee, Hagar? --Gen. xxi. 17. Note: It is never used to express a specific disease. We do not say, a fever ails him; but, something ails him.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ail Ail, v. i. To be affected with pain or uneasiness of any sort; to be ill or indisposed or in trouble. When he ails ever so little . . . he is so peevish. --Richardson.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Ail Ail, n. Indisposition or morbid affection. --Pope.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(ails, ailing, ailed) If something ails a group or area of activity, it is a problem or source of trouble for that group or for people involved in that activity. A full-scale debate is under way on what ails the industry. VERB: V n

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

al (Anglo-Saxon: eglan, "to pain"): As a verb translation, is "to trouble," "afflict" (obsolete); intrans, "to feel pain, trouble, uneasiness," etc.; it represents Hebrew mah lekha "what to thee" (Ge 21:17, "What aileth thee, Hagar?"; Jud 18:23; 1Sa 11:5; 2Sa 14:5; 2Ki 6:28; Isa 22:1); in Ps 114:5, it is figuratively or poetically applied to the sea, the river Jordan, etc.: "What ailed thee, O thou sea, that thou fleddest?" etc.; the Revised Version (British and American), "What aileth thee, O thou sea that thou fleest?" etc.; in 2 Esdras 9:42; 10:31, "What aileth thee?"

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. Pain, trouble, afflict, be the matter with. II. v. n. Suffer, be in pain, feel pain, be ill, peak, pine. III. n. Disease. See ailment.

Moby Thesaurus

ache, afflict, agonize, anguish, be affected with, be the matter, beset, bite, blanch, blench, bother, burn, chafe, complain of, complicate matters, concern, convulse, crucify, cut, discommode, distress, disturb, excruciate, feel ill, feel pain, feel the pangs, fester, fret, gall, give pain, gnaw, grate, grimace, grind, gripe, harass, harrow, have a misery, hurt, inconvenience, inflame, inflict pain, irk, irritate, kill by inches, labor under, lacerate, martyr, martyrize, nip, pain, perplex, perturb, pierce, pinch, plague, pother, pound, prick, prolong the agony, put out, put to it, put to torture, puzzle, rack, rankle, rasp, rub, shoot, shrink, smart, stab, sting, suffer, thrill, throb, tingle, torment, torture, trouble, try, tweak, twinge, twist, twitch, upset, vex, wince, worry, wound, wring, writhe