as in tangle
something that catches and holds
a married woman hopelessly caught in the toils of an extramarital affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
as in labors
to devote serious and sustained effort
toiled for many years on the mammoth outdoor sculpture
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of toils
Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 17 Oct. 2025
The film unfolds from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl named Qing (Aline Chen), who lives and works the land with her mother, Hongmei (Li Yanxi), while her father toils in a factory in a faraway city.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
How Tielemans overcame early toils is often used as a source of encouragement by new additions who seem peripheral at first.
—Jacob Tanswell, New York Times, 23 Oct. 2025
Verb
Several Democratic incumbents are seeing their young primary opponents boast impressive fundraising numbers as the party toils between placing its faith in its incumbent establishment or in a future featuring younger, more progressive candidates.
—Molly Parks, The Washington Examiner, 17 Oct. 2025
The film unfolds from the perspective of an eight-year-old girl named Qing (Aline Chen), who lives and works the land with her mother, Hongmei (Li Yanxi), while her father toils in a factory in a faraway city.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for toils
Noun
-
Leaving sheets in the dryer for an extended period gives them more opportunity to wrinkle or tangle.—
Anyssa Roberts,
The Spruce,
5 Feb. 2026
-
The debate took place against the backdrop of a tangle of state policies.—
Shun Graves,
Chicago Tribune,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Surplus models represent both an opportunity and a potential trap for consumers looking to secure a bargain on a new vehicle, and brokers urged treading carefully.—
Aldo Svaldi,
Denver Post,
1 Feb. 2026
-
Be sure to clean the lint trap.—
Sarah Lyon,
The Spruce,
1 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
As luxury struggles to woo a young generation of consumers who have not yet accumulated enough wealth to drop five figures on a handbag, the cohort of twentysomethings has instead become enamored with more affordable fitness activities.—
Sasha Rogelberg,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Karlic also struggles with strictly online classes, further limiting his options.—
Olivia Stevens,
Chicago Tribune,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But within the vast city and its surrounding subregions lies a diverse web of culture that draws people from all over the world, including many of La-La Land’s biggest stars.—
Architectural Digest,
Architectural Digest,
6 Feb. 2026
-
ChatGPT's early lead among individual users appears to be shortening as rivals like Google’s Gemini close in on its app and web market share—a shift that could complicate the company’s reported plans to IPO later this year.—
Alexei Oreskovic,
Fortune,
6 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
The organization, which strives to provide services to anyone who needs them, would almost certainly have to reduce hours or possibly even close clinics.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
1 Feb. 2026
-
While it is not accredited, the IPS strives to be no less rigorous or critical than the programs that seek such validation.—
Catherine Taft,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Quantum systems promise new ways to solve specific classes of problems by exploiting superposition and entanglement.—
Matthew S Williams,
Interesting Engineering,
5 Feb. 2026
-
While undoubtedly xenophobic in nature, these questions highlight their acute ignorance about the place that birthed Bad Bunny, and its ongoing entanglement with the United States.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Throughout the novel, Nikki works tirelessly to prove herself amongst industry male figureheads who don’t value her voice, personhood, and brilliance, while managing pressure from a boss who isn't her advocate and navigating challenging colleagues steeped in misogyny and who are power-hungry.—
Dominique Fluker,
Forbes.com,
27 Jan. 2026
-
But that’s not how state terror works.—
M. Gessen,
Mercury News,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The team gathered their marten data via 285 hair snares (made from PVC pipe) and 135 cameras.—
Laura Baisas,
Popular Science,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Its graphic clarity teems with ornament and glitter, visual intoxications that signal delusions and snares.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
17 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Toils.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toils. Accessed 8 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
