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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of travail
Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for travail
Noun
Other French politicians – including on the left – have had their political ambitions dashed by legal travails.
—Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for travail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for travail
Noun
-
That places an onerous burden on Henson, doing her considerable best trying to sustain a role whose Job-like travails crank the distress level to 11 too soon.—
Dennis Harvey,
Variety,
6 June 2025
-
The report highlights research on young adults that shows that trans students who participate in collegiate sports are less likely to experience distress, self-harm and suicidal thoughts.—
Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy,
USA Today,
6 June 2025
Noun
-
The club supports dads who have endured any type of perinatal loss – that is, death of a baby during pregnancy, labor or within the first few weeks after birth.—
Matt Villano,
CNN Money,
13 June 2025
-
In contrast, Huma argued that college athletes should be afforded the same rights under federal labor laws as other workers.—
Daniel Libit,
Sportico.com,
12 June 2025
Noun
-
Women will learn what bodily changes to expect after giving birth, how to prepare for childbirth and how to maximize recovery.—
Orlando Sentinel Staff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
5 June 2025
-
Clinton: Medicaid pays for about 40% of all childbirth and pays for an enormous percentage of senior citizens' health care and a lot of other stuff.—
Clare Mulroy,
USA Today,
3 June 2025
Verb
-
O’Neal’s involvement in the FTX litigation generated headlines when process servers representing the investors struggled to track down the 7-foot-1, 325-pound very recognizable former NBA star.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
16 June 2025
-
Both struggling defenders were pulled at halftime, replaced with like-for-like alternatives (Reed Baker-Whiting and Jon Bell) who fared better in the second half.—
Jeff Rueter,
New York Times,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
And that gave him some kind of legitimacy after 40 years of agony, derided by the music press.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
11 June 2025
-
For more than a year, the Perry family waited in agony for answers.—
Christina Coulter,
People.com,
7 June 2025
Noun
-
Rose was part of an intense effort to secure those changes.—
David Folkenflik,
NPR,
16 June 2025
-
Michael Manley, the prime minister at the time, had asked Bob Marley and the Wailers to play the Smile Jamaica concert in an effort to calm tensions in the country.—
Natalie Meade,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
Verb
-
These latest additional targets, combined with the rising civilian casualties in Israel, constitute an escalation where both sides are striving to alienate the opposing side’s public from its leadership.—
Melik Kaylan,
Forbes.com,
16 June 2025
-
For the striving artists, a steady job is not a compromise but a strategic advantage, a powerful catalyst for sustained creativity and personal well-being.—
Kice Akkawi,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
Noun
-
Among the thousands left in anguish is Sasha Escalante, a 44-year-old Venezuelan radio producer living in Miami.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
5 June 2025
-
Criminalizing them can lead to extended mental anguish.—
Sophie Clark,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Travail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/travail. Accessed 20 Jun. 2025.
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