travail

American  

[truh-veyl, trav-eyl] / trəˈveɪl, ˈtræv eɪl /

noun

1. painfully difficult or burdensome work; toil.

   Synonyms:

   moil, labor

2. pain, anguish or suffering resulting from mental or physical hardship.

   Synonyms:

   agony, torment

3. the pain of childbirth.

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verb (used without object)

1. to suffer the pangs of childbirth; be in labor.

2. to toil or exert oneself.

travail British  

/ ˈtræveɪl /

noun

1. painful or excessive labour or exertion

2. the pangs of childbirth; labour

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verb

1. (intr) to suffer or labour painfully, esp in childbirth

Etymology

Origin of travail

1200–50; (v.) Middle English travaillen < Old French travaillier to torment < Vulgar Latin *trepaliāre to torture, derivative of Late Latin trepālium torture chamber, literally, instrument of torture made with three stakes ( tri-, pale ² ); (noun) Middle English < Old French: suffering, derivative of travailler

Example Sentences

The visual gags that are part of Jake’s physical travails not only elicit chuckles but add a neurodivergent undertone to the story.

From Salon

But then I’ve never understood escapism in the context of workplace comedy, romantic travails or contemporary political drama.

From The Wall Street Journal

It follows the fortunes and travails of the Oppermann family in Berlin as upper-class Jews during the rise of National Socialism, a phenomenon they blithely dismiss until that’s no longer possible.

From The Wall Street Journal

Yet Summers’s travails are also uniquely his own.

From The Wall Street Journal

And yet, for all the detail about the staff, we learn very little about their inner lives, their travails, motivations and hopes.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• agony
• anguish
• tribulation
• woe