Synonyms of toils

toils 1 of 2

noun

plural of toil

as in tangle

something that catches and holds

a married woman hopelessly caught in the toils of an extramarital affair

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tangle
• trap
• web
• entanglement
• snare
• morass
• quicksand
• quagmire
• labyrinth
• noose
• net
• maze
• mesh(es)
• tanglement
• snarl
• knot
• cobweb
• cat's cradle
• spiderweb

toils

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of toil

as in labors

to devote serious and sustained effort

toiled for many years on the mammoth outdoor sculpture

Synonyms & Similar Words

• labors
• struggles
• strives
• works
• endeavors
• slaves
• tries
• hustles
• tugs
• sweats
• travails
• plows
• drudges
• slogs
• plods
• digs (away)
• grubs
• humps
• pegs (away)
• plugs
• strains
• fags
• bangs away
• beavers (away)
• sweats blood
• moils
• applies (oneself)
• hammers (away)
• buckles (down)
• attacks
• exerts
• knuckles down
• pitches in
• overworks
• wades
• drives
• exercises
• essays
• trudges
• scratches
• digs in
• ekes out
• grinds (out)
• overexerts
• scrabbles
• puts out

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• breaks
• slackens
• eases (up)
• shirks
• dallies
• lazes
• rests
• lets up
• basks
• idles
• hangs (around or out)
• chills
• slacks (off)
• loafs
• reposes
• unwinds
• bums
• lolls
• goldbricks
• lounges
• relaxes
• goofs (off)
• hacks (around)
• dillydallies
• plays
• hangs
• dabbles
• trifles
• footles
• fribbles
• vegges out
• putters (around)
• fools around
• doodles
• goofs (around)
• monkeys (around)
• potters (around)
• messes around
• hangs about

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of toils

Noun

There has to be a chance that Jos Buttler’s toils in Sri Lanka and India represent his last ventures on the international stage, and therefore the end of an era. — Paul Newman, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2026

Both were premised on the idea of frictionless ease, liberating their users from outmoded toils. — Jake Lundberg, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2026

The conceit of narrating a year in one’s life through the toils and sensations of the kitchen is one that many have taken up before. — Hannah Goldfield, New Yorker, 9 Feb. 2026

Verb

The silent sci-fi film, which depicts a dystopian future in which the wealthy upper class prospers in a utopia while the working class lives and toils in a dismal underground society, was released in theaters in 1927. — Britt Hayes, Entertainment Weekly, 16 June 2026

While Alina toils in the greenhouses, Lucian makes new friends. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 13 May 2026

Yoriko toils in anonymity in Nagi as a sculptor of human figures hewn from raw blocks of wood. — Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026

Union itself released a dramatic trailer set in a surgical amphitheater in which a medical team toils away at the sneaker. — Ian Servantes, Footwear News, 4 Feb. 2026

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