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travail

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verb

Synonym Chooser

How does the noun travail contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of travail are drudgery, grind, labor, toil, and work. While all these words mean "activity involving effort or exertion," travail is bookish for labor involving pain or suffering.

years of travail were lost when the house burned

In what contexts can drudgery take the place of travail?

The words drudgery and travail can be used in similar contexts, but drudgery suggests dull and irksome labor.

an editorial job with a good deal of drudgery

When would grind be a good substitute for travail?

Although the words grind and travail have much in common, grind implies labor exhausting to mind or body.

the grind of the assembly line

When is it sensible to use labor instead of travail?

While in some cases nearly identical to travail, labor applies to physical or intellectual work involving great and often strenuous exertion.

farmers demanding fair compensation for their labor

When could toil be used to replace travail?

The meanings of toil and travail largely overlap; however, toil implies prolonged and fatiguing labor.

his lot would be years of back-breaking toil

When might work be a better fit than travail?

The words work and travail are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, work may imply activity of body, of mind, of a machine, or of a natural force.

too tired to do any work

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
Noun
Milwaukee Film unveiled the first half-dozen movies in the lineup for the 2025 Dialogues Documentary Festival, covering topics ranging from the travails of a cat hospice to the life and history of the girl in the rubber slippers, aka Dorothy Gale. Chris Foran, jsonline.com, 19 Aug. 2025 Bondi’s Epstein travails began on February 21st. Ruth Marcus, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 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
  • Cowley has suffered financial losses, lost time, anxiety and emotional distress because of the data breach, according to the complaint.
    Charlotte Observer, Charlotte Observer, 7 Oct. 2025
  • With presidential elections not scheduled until at least 2027, however, Chetouane said the country is currently avoiding idiosyncratic distress.
    Hugh Leask, CNBC, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Even those who like parts of his agenda have been stumped about how to talk him out of the stuff that terrifies them — whiplash tariffs and a labor-depleting immigration crackdown.
    Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Without the protection of the non-statutory labor exemption, the NFL’s salary cap and other limitations on players’ earning opportunities became targets for antitrust law.
    Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 7 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The birthing scene in episode 11 was the most accurate, gory, and riveting fictional depiction of childbirth in television history, in my opinion.
    Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Not to mention the potential benefits of COVID-19 vaccination during pregnancy after childbirth.
    Erica Sloan, SELF, 26 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • The arrival of Clark and other high-profile young players have contributed to a boom in popularity for the long-struggling league.
    Kevin Dotson, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2025
  • The Broncos are 2-2 and coming off a dominating 28-3 victory over the struggling Cincinnati Bengals.
    Hunter Simpson, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Safdie may have found a new way to make a sports drama, one that relies less on the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat and more on all that is contained in the ambivalent middle.
    Richard Lawson, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Lessing expresses no regret or agony at her childhood actions, or at what happens next.
    Rebecca van Laer September 30, Literary Hub, 30 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • In a phone call with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette shortly after the petition was filed, Richardson mostly declined to comment on his own health and the recall effort.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 7 Oct. 2025
  • Gainwell could have forced the Steelers to give him more of the share, especially in an effort to keep Jaylen Warren healthy.
    Jake Ciely, New York Times, 7 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • Let it never be said that Taylor Alison Swift doesn’t strive to be amazing.
    Lisa Respers France, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2025
  • This is especially true for the young Latine children and families who are striving to learn the local language and customs of a country that’s already waging war against them.
    Priscilla Blossom, Time, 2 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • Yet even the loudest music could not drown out the anguish.
    Milena Malaver, Miami Herald, 4 Oct. 2025
  • Alma returns home one evening to find Maggie waiting outside with a look of wild anguish and a terrible experience to recount.
    Justin Chang, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Travail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travail. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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