travail

travail

noun

Definition of TRAVAIL

1

a state of great suffering of body or mind <no greater travail than that of parents who have suffered the death of a child>

Synonyms affliction, agony, anguish, excruciation, hurt, misery, pain, rack, strait(s), torment, torture, travail, tribulation, woe

Related Words discomfort; cross, crucible, trial; heartache, heartbreak, joylessness, sadness, sorrow, unhappiness; emergency, pinch; asperity, difficulty, hardship, rigor; ache, pang, smarting, soreness, stitch, throe, twinge; danger, jeopardy, trouble

Near Antonyms comfort, consolation, solace; alleviation, assuagement, ease, relief; peace, security; well-being

2

very hard or unpleasant work <these villagers now have decent housing, so our travail has not been in vain>

Synonyms donkeywork, drudge, drudgery, fatigue, grind, labor, moil, slavery, sweat, travail

Related Words spadework; effort, exertion, pains, struggle, trouble; chore, duty, job, obligation, responsibility; routine, tedium, treadmill

Near Antonyms decompression, ease, leisure, relaxation, repose, rest; amusement, dalliance, diversion, entertainment, recreation, sport; dormancy, idleness, inactivity, inertia, inertness; dallying, goldbricking, loafing, lolling, lounging

Antonyms fun, play

3

the act or process of giving birth to children <a midwife assisted her throughout her long travail>

Synonyms accouchement, childbearing, delivery, labor, parturition, travail

Related Words birth pang, contraction, pains; pregnancy; abortion, miscarriage; cesarean section (or caesarean section), natural childbirth; childbed, confinement, lying-in