ail
Pronunciation
  • (British, America) IPA: /eɪl/
Verb

ail (ails, present participle ailing; past and past participle ailed)

  1. (transitive) 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.
    • Bible, Genesis xxi. 17
      What aileth thee, Hagar?
    • 2011, "Connubial bliss in America", The Economist:
      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?
  2. (intransitive) To be ill; to suffer; to be troubled.
    • When he ails ever so little […] he is so peevish.
Translations Translations Noun

ail (plural ails)

  1. (obsolete) An ailment; trouble; illness.
Translations Adjective

ail (comparative ailer, superlative ailest)

  1. (obsolete) Painful; troublesome.
Noun

ail (plural ails)

  1. The awn of barley or other types of corn.



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