An ailing organization or society is in difficulty and is becoming weaker.
The rise in overseas sales is good news for the ailing American economy.
Synonyms: weak, failing, poor, flawed More Synonyms of ailing
2. adjective
If someone is ailing, they are ill and are not getting better.
[old-fashioned]
He is said to be ailing at his home in Washington.
More Synonyms of ailing
ailing in British English
(ˈeɪlɪŋ)
adjective
unwell or unsuccessful
ailing in American English
(ˈeɪlɪŋ)
adjective
in poor health; sickly
SIMILAR WORDS: sick
Examples of 'ailing' in a sentence
ailing
To take on the ailing business seemed to be our last bus to town.
Thompson, Sir Peter Sharing the Success - the story of NFC (1990)
The ailing bank said the cuts would come in all regions and all units.
The Sun (2011)
Planning cannot easily be superimposed on a very open and rather ailing capitalist economy.
Hirst, Paul After Thatcher (1989)
How much longer should taxpayers be prepared to put money into ailing banks?
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
She had just returned from Britain to nurse her ailing mother.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Why can't we have such a radical approach here to boost our ailing economy?
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
The increased borrowing is due to the costs of rescuing the country's ailing banks.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
The alternative comedian combines the story of his mother 's ailing health with hits by the gloomy singersongwriter.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
What follows is one man's struggle with his conscience about how best to take care of his ailing mother.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
In a nod to the ailing economy, the invitation from the first lady had recommended that guests eat beforehand.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Britain is also seeking German assistance to protect taxpayers from having to contribute to a fund to help ailing eurozone banks.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The news is a terrific boost to Britain's ailing car industry.
The Sun (2008)
Spain's ailing car industry accounts for 20 per cent of exports.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
With oil prices in the doldrums, the last support of the ailing Soviet economy was removed.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The Belgian Government may now have to prop up the ailing bank.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Also, if more people stayed in this country, our ailing tourist industry would get a boost.
The Sun (2016)
If the Chinese economy faltered, it would mean no more investment to prop up our ailing economies.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
He continued: 'To continue to rely on domestic consumption to revive an ailing economy is pure folly.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
What follows in this affecting if pretty bleak drama is one man's struggle with his conscience about how best to take care of his ailingmother.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
As he sees it, the sport means jobs, investment and an injection of hope into an ailing economy.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
A beautiful, proud, independent young woman sets out to save an ailing business.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
She was also the victim of the deeply unpopular Republican brand and the ailing economy that were the major factors in the party's demise.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
This is not just a business show where ailing boutiques are given a fresh lease of life - tonight's episode turns into a makeover programme too.
The Sun (2008)
His departure from the political scene would ease the president's efforts to tackle the ailing economy, prompting him to say the charges against him were political.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In other languages
ailing
British English: ailing ADJECTIVE
An ailing organization is in difficulty.
He saved the ailing business.
American English: ailing
Brazilian Portuguese: enfermo
Chinese: 每况愈下的
European Spanish: enfermizo
French: malade
German: kränklich
Italian: in difficoltà
Japanese: 不振の
Korean: 어려움에 처한
European Portuguese: enfermo
Latin American Spanish: frágil
Chinese translation of 'ailing'
ailing
(ˈeɪlɪŋ)
adj
[person]久病不起的 (jiǔbìng bùqǐ de)
[economy, industry]每况(況)愈下的 (měi kuàng yù xià de)
1 (adjective)
Definition
unwell or unsuccessful over a long period
A rise in overseas sales is good news for the ailing economy.
Synonyms
weak
His eyesight had always been weak.
failing
poor
The meal was very poor.
He was a poor actor.
flawed
The tests were seriously flawed.
unstable
feeble
This is a feeble argument.
unsatisfactory
The inspectors said a third of lessons were unsatisfactory.
deficient
deficient landing systems
unsound
He was rejected as an army conscript as being of unsound mind.
2 (adjective)
Definition
unwell or unsuccessful over a long period
I stopped working to care for my ailing mother.
Synonyms
ill
He was seriously ill with pneumonia.
suffering
poorly (informal)
I've just phoned Julie and she's still poorly.
diseased
Clear away dead or diseased plants.
sick
She's very sick.
weak
I was too weak to move my arms and legs.
crook (Australian, New Zealand, informal)
He admitted to feeling a bit crook.
feeble
invalid
I have an invalid wife and am labelled as a carer.
debilitated
sickly
He had been a sickly child.
unwell
He felt unwell as he was being driven back to his office.