as in tangle
something that catches and holds
a married woman hopelessly caught in the toils of an extramarital affair
Synonyms & Similar Words
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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.
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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
-
After spraying this before a braid takedown, my hair was visibly softer and easier to mange through tangles.—
Caché McClay,
USA Today,
7 Nov. 2025
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Having the best brush for your dog will keep its coat free of tangles and might even prevent a big bill at the groomer’s.—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
Jacob plots to seduce his employers and gain an advantage from their industry connections, but unwittingly walks into a trap.—
Jake Kanter,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
-
By moving the economy up the value chain, Beijing hopes to escape the middle-income trap and cement its status as a self-reliant tech superpower.—
Shaoyu Yuan,
The Conversation,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
Mason, my character, really struggles with that.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
3 Nov. 2025
-
The book, illustrated by Petra Brown and geared toward kids ages 3 to 7, follows a young girl named Kat who struggles to continue horseback riding after falling off a horse.—
Anna Halkidis,
Parents,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Hit by the Wall Street crash in 1929 and the ensuing Great Depression, his spectacular 1932 downfall exposed a web of deception, and he was later found dead in what was ruled a suicide.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
3 Nov. 2025
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Up to 95 percent of a brand’s emissions sit outside its direct control, scattered across a messy web of suppliers, mills, logistics partners, and raw-material sources.—
Gus Bartholomew,
Sourcing Journal,
3 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The development comes as Netflix strives to become more competitive with its peers in the battle to win ad dollars from Madison Avenue.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Everyone strives for that state and pours their love into it.—
Billboard Japan,
Billboard,
28 Oct. 2025
Noun
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This transit can also expose hidden motives in relationships, financial entanglements and even regarding our sense of self-worth.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
7 Nov. 2025
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Being buried in dry science explainers is part of what makes those concepts—nonlocality, entanglement, black hole gravity—difficult to understand.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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The fundraiser benefits Hamilton's CARES Foundation, an organization that works with cancer research centers and emphasizes finding cures that prevent long-term harm to patients.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
6 Nov. 2025
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The chip that works this optical magic is not much to see.—
Jeffrey Kluger,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
Noun
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In other parts of the state, hoop nets and crab snares may be used.—
Linda Zavoral,
Mercury News,
26 Oct. 2025
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LaFreniere said the bear had just about worked its way out of the snare, with the cable loop barely holding the bruin by a claw.—
Bob McNally,
Outdoor Life,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Toils.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toils. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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