1
as in distress
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 & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in labor
very hard or unpleasant work
these villagers now have decent housing, so our travail has not been in vain
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in childbirth
the act or process of giving birth to children
a midwife assisted her throughout her long travail
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in to labor
to devote serious and sustained effort
Labor Day is the day on which we recognize those men and women who daily travail with little appreciation or compensation
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 travail
Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2025
Then real life happened as her father passed and the travails of the tour became too much.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
Yue Wang, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
For Zegler, making her British stage debut, Evita must seem like a haven of sorts after her travails with the controversy that grew around Snow White, where her casting was subject to racist attacks on social media about her Colombian heritage.
—Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for travail
Noun
The legal travails have spread to others involved in the movie and its publicity as well.
—Theresa Braine, New York Daily News, 31 Mar. 2025
Then real life happened as her father passed and the travails of the tour became too much.
—Tim Ellis, Forbes.com, 12 July 2025
Verb
Zhong Shanshan, founder and chairman of beverage giant Nongfu Spring, has reclaimed his crown as China’s richest person amid a turnaround of his business and family travails at top rival Hangzhou Wahaha Group.
—Yue Wang, Forbes.com, 23 July 2025
For Zegler, making her British stage debut, Evita must seem like a haven of sorts after her travails with the controversy that grew around Snow White, where her casting was subject to racist attacks on social media about her Colombian heritage.
—Sarah Crompton, Vogue, 16 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for travail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for travail
Noun
-
Notably, unemployment among Black men spiked significantly from 5.2% in May to 6.9% in July, illustrating a spreading distress that often starts with the most vulnerable groups and then extends wider in the labor market.—
Aisha Nyandoro,
Forbes.com,
7 Aug. 2025
-
The legislation also follows several studies that highlighted concerning examples of AI therapy tools overlooking, or even encouraging, signs of mental distress.—
Mack DeGeurin,
Popular Science,
6 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
Preparing For Inbound Shipments Historically, warehouse managers used static storage plans and reactive labor scheduling to handle inbound shipments.—
Michael Amori,
Forbes.com,
13 Aug. 2025
-
Exactly how much difference this boost will make in the Golden State depends on many factors, including tariffs, labor costs, state funding, and more.—
CalMatters,
Mercury News,
12 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
And finally, dipping estrogen can reduce blood flow to your pelvic floor muscles, contributing to the weakening of this zone that can naturally happen with age and childbirth, Dr. Adams adds.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
1 Aug. 2025
-
Following childbirth, annual follow ups involving questionnaires and health exams were conducted for both mother and child.—
Sheah Rarback,
Miami Herald,
31 July 2025
Verb
-
Arsenal struggled to break down opponents that sat deep and asked the Gunners to find a way to goal.—
Graham Ruthven,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
-
Serafin pitches Qualtrics as using technology to solve a problem technology created, saying companies now struggle to piece together a coherent picture of their customers across their call centers, apps, websites, text messages, and social media accounts.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
For many, the relationship with tequila ended in their early 20s with promises made to some dormitory deity — often made of porcelain — to end a miserable night’s agony.—
Todd Harmonson,
Oc Register,
4 Aug. 2025
-
My wing-scarfing strategy was to plow through as many as possible before the agony set in, then survive the remainder without committing the day-ruining error of touching my eyes.—
Bradley Hohulin,
IndyStar,
2 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
South Korea’s new liberal president announced Friday his plans to end some military activities along its border with North Korea and restore a 2018 military agreement with its neighbor in an effort to reduce border tensions.—
Landon Mion,
FOXNews.com,
15 Aug. 2025
-
An effort has been underway to increase the number of organ donors in Florida’s minority communities.—
Cindy Krischer Goodman,
Sun Sentinel,
15 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
With a holistic view of organizational needs and resources, cognitive tools strive not simply to accelerate existing processes but to develop new approaches in real time to optimize actions across the entire value chain.—
Gurdip Singh,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
-
The series has never strived to be anything more than opulent fluff, but it still gets consistently pilloried for its lack of realism.—
Inkoo Kang,
New Yorker,
15 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
As the hours pass, the anguish of the families and their fellow miners has increased.—
Cristopher Ulloa,
CNN Money,
2 Aug. 2025
-
The passage of time may increase the anguish of self-examination, but the search for truth is always worth the cost.—
Gary Knight,
Rolling Stone,
1 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Travail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travail. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share