malady

noun

mal·​a·​dy ˈma-lə-dē 

plural maladies

1

: a disease or disorder of the animal body

told by his physicians that he had a fatal malady

—Willa Cather

2

: an unwholesome or disordered condition

poverty, homelessness, and other social maladies

Synonyms

• affection
• ail
• ailment
• bug
• complaint
• complication
• condition
• disease
• disorder
• distemper
• distemperature
• fever
• ill
• illness
• infirmity
• sickness
• trouble

Examples of malady in a Sentence

in the olden days people were always suffering from some unknown malady

Recent Examples on the Web

And yet, because the show requires quite a bit of prior knowledge for viewers to truly know what’s going on, particularly in the back half of the season, Born Again ends up suffering the exact same malady afflicting every other inch of the MCU enterprise. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 4 Mar. 2025

Respiratory illnesses aside, another seasonal malady that’s going around is norovirus, a nasty stomach bug that causes vomiting and diarrhea. —Tess Kenny, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025

In 1997, Smith was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, a malady that makes basic movements — walking, talking, swallowing, smiling — difficult to impossible. —Bob Goldsborough, Chicago Tribune, 17 Feb. 2025

These are all maladies that Albania had rid itself of some 50 years ago. —Bruce Dorminey, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English maladie, from Anglo-French, from malade sick, from Latin male habitus in bad condition

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

malady

noun

mal·​a·​dy ˈmal-əd-ē 

plural maladies

: a disease or disorder of the body or mind : ailment

Medical Definition

malady

noun

mal·​a·​dy ˈmal-əd-ē 

plural maladies

: disease, sickness

a fatal malady