TRAVAIL Synonyms: 186 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

travail 1 of 2

noun

trə-ˈvāl

Definition of travail

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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in labor

very hard or unpleasant work these villagers now have decent housing, so our travail has not been in vain

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as in childbirth

the act or process of giving birth to children a midwife assisted her throughout her long travail

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travail

2 of 2

verb

trə-ˈvāl

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

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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

Despite their travails in Tehran, the atmosphere in the cafe felt lax, with many women not heeding the country’s law requiring women to cover their heads and the shape of their bodies. — Mithil Aggarwal, NBC news, 22 June 2026 Gaudette used a series of AI tools — and not a single actor, producer or crew member — to tell his tender story of a man who, for all his travails, hardly wallows in his station. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 17 June 2026

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

OpenAI has said its ChatGPT program is trained to recognize signs of emotional distress, de-escalate situations, and guide users to real-life support.

— Stephanie Yang, CNN Money, 23 July 2026
The two men filed a lawsuit against Unity Medical Center alleging emotional distress caused by negligence and medical malpractice, claiming the facility robbed them of the lives they were meant to live.

— Khloe Quill, FOXNews.com, 23 July 2026

Definition of distress

Noun

In biology, for example, AI has compressed years of scientific labor into tools that can be shared across the world.

— Belonging Forum, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
The city appears prepared to take a hard line on the labor issue, which Dunphy says includes everything from construction workers to concession stand employees.

— Jason Quick, New York Times, 21 July 2026

Definition of labor

Noun

For Jill Little, the director of YPP, the program has been a steadying force in walking alongside the girls through the uncertainty of pregnancy, childbirth and raising a child.

— Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 24 July 2026
Both of their parents die—their father in a train accident and their mother in childbirth.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 July 2026

Definition of childbirth

Verb

In the galley, Joy struggles to accommodate two sheets of Suzanne’s preferences and one sheet of Sugar Baby’s.

— Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 21 July 2026
Day to day, as the city grows, there’s also the question of traffic, which snarls the city as public transit initiatives have repeatedly struggled.

— Jacqui Palumbo, CNN Money, 21 July 2026

Definition of struggle

Noun

Negron shared her agony over losing her brother on social media.

— Julian Roberts-Grmela, New York Daily News, 18 July 2026
Sadly, in discouraging all the phantom agonies, FIFA inadvertently seems to have done away with the equally farcical phenomenon that is Magic Spray®.

— Anthony Crupi, Sportico.com, 17 July 2026

Definition of agony

Noun

Researchers began this effort in 2025, taking cell samples from deceased golden wild yaks and transplanting clone embryos into surrogate mothers.

— Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 25 July 2026
For Greece, the investment is part of a broader effort to modernize its armed forces and enhance deterrence capabilities in a region marked by persistent security concerns.

— Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 25 July 2026

Definition of effort

Verb

What specific gaps in the motorsports ecosystem was the team striving to solve?

— Michael Harley, Forbes.com, 23 July 2026
There was so much striving, by individuals and their teams, striving for the World Cup trophy and striving against every structural indecency that conspired to compromise the game’s integrity.

— Jerry Brewer, New York Times, 20 July 2026

Definition of strive

Cite this Entry

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“Travail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travail. Accessed 28 Jul. 2026.

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