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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of travail
Jack Kelly, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
But for me the recent offensive travails are more of a worry.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
The result is the most boring season of Love Is Blind to date, with couples whose romantic travails are about as spicy as macaroni salad.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 14 Feb. 2025
Over the season’s travails, their chemistry deepens from easy and comfortable to fiercely devoted to movingly tender.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for travail
Noun
These travails contribute to derailing them from the traditional American Dream path.
—Jack Kelly, Forbes, 5 Mar. 2025
But for me the recent offensive travails are more of a worry.
—Sebastian Stafford-Bloor, The Athletic, 18 Feb. 2025
The result is the most boring season of Love Is Blind to date, with couples whose romantic travails are about as spicy as macaroni salad.
—Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 14 Feb. 2025
Over the season’s travails, their chemistry deepens from easy and comfortable to fiercely devoted to movingly tender.
—Angie Han, HollywoodReporter, 7 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for travail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for travail
Noun
-
The organization provides up to eight free mental health and counseling sessions to youth and their families who have experienced gun violence, abuse or emotional distress.—
Kamal Morgan,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
27 May 2025
-
Noumea’s Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre notified Carnival Splendor about a distress call from a catamaran while the ship was traveling south of New Caledonia on Thursday, according to a news release.—
Nathan Diller,
USA Today,
24 May 2025
Noun
-
Counties with more than 4% unemployment (labor surplus zones) account for approximately 3.5 million unemployed workers, while counties with less than 4% unemployment (labor shortage zones) need about 1.7 million workers to reach the 4% full-employment benchmark.—
Ariel Diaz,
Forbes.com,
2 June 2025
-
To opponents of the bills, including dozens of environmental and labor groups, the effort misplaces the source of building woes and instead would restrict one of the few ways community groups can shape development.—
Liam Dillon,
Los Angeles Times,
2 June 2025
Noun
-
For years, society has warned women against childbirth after 35.—
Essence,
Essence,
20 May 2025
-
There is a pathetic patronizing attempt to walk the misogynistic message back with the reassurance that of course the Tribune Editorial Board supports any choice a person makes about childbirth.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2025
Verb
-
Rob Crossan January 17, 2025 Marketed as a luxury tourist destination, the Maldives struggles with the legacy of an authoritarian government and the existential threat of climate change.—
The Editors,
JSTOR Daily,
23 May 2025
-
That built him a three-shot lead entering Sunday's final round. Midway through his final 18, Scheffler was struggling.—
Kendall Capps,
MSNBC Newsweek,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
At this point in the narrative, when Mike is sentenced to 14 months jail time, more conventional addiction dramas would dig into the trauma of incarceration and the agony of substance withdrawal.—
David Rooney,
HollywoodReporter,
17 May 2025
-
One young man described the particular agony of being placed carelessly in a wheelchair and forced to sit for hours atop his testicles.—
Sarah Zhang,
The Atlantic,
16 May 2025
Noun
-
The vast majority of Customer Success leaders (89%) are making scale and efficiency a primary goal of their efforts, according to a survey of research conducted by Gainsight.—
Stephen Diorio,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
-
While his admission may seem like a slight, cracking the list of the league’s top 10 defenders each season is a difficult task, particularly for perimeter players whose efforts aren’t as well represented by defensive metrics.—
Jace Frederick,
Twin Cities,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
What Thornton is striving toward, an embrace of generosity, of humanity being able to change what faith and religion even mean, is often moving.—
Ella Kemp,
IndieWire,
23 May 2025
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Businesses should be able to write off the full expense of their capital investments in the year they are made, and the Senate should strive to cut spending elsewhere to balance out the revenue losses from making bonus depreciation permanent.—
The Editors,
National Review,
23 May 2025
Noun
-
The victim’s scream of anguish is captured in the video.—
John Annese,
New York Daily News,
26 May 2025
-
Rite of Spring is the Pièce de resistance of the exhibition and features a mass of writhing bodies morphing into each other, women giving birth, androgynous figures and figures with expressions of anguish.—
Lee Sharrock,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Travail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travail. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
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