1
as in pains
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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in efforts
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 childbirths
the act or process of giving birth to children
a midwife assisted her throughout her long travail
Synonyms & Similar Words
as in struggles
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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of travails
Editorial Board, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2026
Set in the late 90’s, the comedy follows the trials and travails of Chester (Dan Beirne), a cartoonist and Sonny (Emily Lê), a TV host, who are in a long-term, committed, romantic relationship until Sonny introduces the idea of opening up the couple.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
Porkchop has persevered through her travails.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Everton will no doubt have ended the game content with a point, given their first-half travails.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
This biography tracks the triumphs and the travails of the twentieth-century Hungarian photographer André Kertész.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
After all, how many travails can one poor family take?
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 10 Jan. 2026
However the travails of some of China’s biggest companies including real estate developers have weighed on the market, while deflationary pressure may dampen future growth.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Jan. 2026
In public comments to news outlets over the past year, representatives from Flow have sought to distance the company from the travails of then-Yieldstreet.
—Hugh Son, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2025
Noun
Consider the recent travails of bride-to-be Lauren Johnson.
—Editorial Board, Washington Post, 13 Feb. 2026
Set in the late 90’s, the comedy follows the trials and travails of Chester (Dan Beirne), a cartoonist and Sonny (Emily Lê), a TV host, who are in a long-term, committed, romantic relationship until Sonny introduces the idea of opening up the couple.
—Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 30 Jan. 2026
Porkchop has persevered through her travails.
—Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 28 Jan. 2026
Everton will no doubt have ended the game content with a point, given their first-half travails.
—Patrick Boyland, New York Times, 27 Jan. 2026
This biography tracks the triumphs and the travails of the twentieth-century Hungarian photographer André Kertész.
—The New Yorker, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026
After all, how many travails can one poor family take?
—Mia Galuppo, HollywoodReporter, 10 Jan. 2026
However the travails of some of China’s biggest companies including real estate developers have weighed on the market, while deflationary pressure may dampen future growth.
—Ben Smith, semafor.com, 2 Jan. 2026
In public comments to news outlets over the past year, representatives from Flow have sought to distance the company from the travails of then-Yieldstreet.
—Hugh Son, CNBC, 5 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for travails
Noun
-
The Olympic organizers have gone to great and sometimes absurd pains to excise political messaging from the Games.—
Vinson Cunningham,
New Yorker,
21 Feb. 2026
-
The duo went to great pains to source pieces from the brands and collections Bessette Kennedy wore, including Prada coats and shoes and her favored Levi denim cut.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Orbán has frequently threatened to scuttle the bloc’s efforts to sanction Moscow over its invasion, and has decried attempts to hit Russia’s energy revenues that help finance the war.—
Justin Spike,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
-
None of Lauren James or Erin Cuthbert’s long-range efforts went in, but that did not matter.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Many women may not be aware at all that private details of their childbirths were shared with law enforcement.—
Shoshana Walter,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
In some Michigan counties, Medicaid covers more than half of all childbirths.—
Kristen Jordan Shamus,
Freep.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Makio struggles to make space for Asa in her heavily compartmentalized life, while navigating her feelings for her ex-boyfriend Shingo.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
20 Feb. 2026
-
But baseball’s membership still struggles with a division between the elite players, who make large sums of money, and everyone else.—
Evan Drellich,
New York Times,
19 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The image, captured by photographer John Kraus, provided a novel view looking almost directly up and into the rocket's intense exhaust plume as it was shaped and backlit by the furious labors of the Merlin engines.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Strausfeld did teach at Brighton College of Art (later part of Brighton Polytechnic), on the south coast of England, for many years, but the fruits of his labors for the Academy are the cause of his meticulous appeal.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Vrabel went on to say that Gonzalez strives to be a captain.—
Doug Kyed,
Boston Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
-
For a population that strives not only to be good, but to be officially good—to dedicate its offices to the needs and the vindication of the vulnerable—the persistence of family abuse is an embarrassing rebuke.—
Elaine Blair,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Hadi’s exceptional attention gives cinematic identity to collective artisanal energy, to the life force of care and devotion that stands outside the agonies of politics, to the spirit that endures a regime and outlives it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Both were premised on the idea of frictionless ease, liberating their users from outmoded toils.—
Jake Lundberg,
The Atlantic,
19 Feb. 2026
-
The conceit of narrating a year in one’s life through the toils and sensations of the kitchen is one that many have taken up before.—
Hannah Goldfield,
New Yorker,
9 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Travails.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travails. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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