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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
Even acquiring a thermometer has become, in our modern times, a travail. Kathryn Schulz, New Yorker, 29 Mar. 2025 For all United’s ongoing travails, the Europa League offers a glimmer of hope on the horizon. Chris Weatherspoon, The Athletic, 18 Mar. 2025 George Michael’s travails deserve to be seen so clearly. Armond White, National Review, 10 Jan. 2025 To be sure, the travails of one single company do not speak for Asia's third-biggest economy. William Pesek, Forbes, 25 Nov. 2024 See All Example Sentences for travail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for travail
Noun
  • On Tuesday, April 29, Patrick Cooper filed a lawsuit against Tisci, 50, claiming assault, battery, false imprisonment, intentional infliction of emotional distress and violations of New York State’s Gender-Motivated Violence Act.
    Charna Flam, People.com, 2 May 2025
  • The letter noted that Connelly allowed this to carry on as West showed symptoms of neurological and behavioral distress.
    Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 1 May 2025
Noun
  • Trying to manage them can feel like a daily battle, and that doesn't take into account the manual labor that goes into pulling them by hand.
    Cody Godwin, USA Today, 27 Apr. 2025
  • The day continues with tending the land, caring for the animals, milking the sheep and goats and preparing the food and goods from our labor.
    Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 26 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Up to 92% of breastfeeding employees return to work after childbirth when their employer provides lactation support, compared to a national average of only a 59% return rate, based on HRSA data.
    Michelle Travis, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • The absence of support often forces American mothers to return to work shortly after childbirth, sometimes sooner than the eight weeks that federal law mandates for separating puppies from their mothers.
    Thomas G. Moukawsher, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Carney may well struggle to hold on to power for as long as Trudeau did, given that the Liberals have fallen just short of an outright majority in Parliament; even the most successful political parties rarely win five straight contests.
    Daniel Block, The Atlantic, 29 Apr. 2025
  • With Andrew Wiggins clearly limited by lower body injuries, Nikola Jović struggling to shoot returning from a hand injury and rookie center Kel’el Ware simply not ready to compete at this high of a level, Miami just couldn’t come close in the end.
    Anthony Slater, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Ellie is stricken with agony, her reaction almost feral.
    Noel Murray, New York Times, 21 Apr. 2025
  • The agony of not knowing was heartbreakingly illustrated by the plight of Oscar Johnson, of St. Charles.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 15 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • The administration’s cost-cutting efforts, led by Elon Musk, have resulted in tens of thousands of layoffs and resignations among government workers and put billions of dollars in federal funding in limbo.
    Jonathan Swan, New York Times, 29 Apr. 2025
  • Trump is expected to promote mass deportation efforts and reduce government spending.
    Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • Growing Global Demand For Automation Companies from different industries are striving to increase efficiency, reduce costs and solve the problem of labor shortages.
    Anton Alikov, Forbes.com, 28 Apr. 2025
  • There is something about the energy, the belief and people striving to achieve the same thing — things happen.
    James McNicholas, New York Times, 28 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • But Season 2, by leaning so far into its characters’ anguish, has become more circular and suffocating in its storytelling.
    Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 21 Apr. 2025
  • Coogler attempts to out-scare Jordan Peele’s Get Out, using horror tropes to match the anguish expressed by the blues.
    Armond White, National Review, 18 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Travail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travail. Accessed 6 May. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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