You can refer to unpleasant hard work or difficult problems as travail.
[literary]
He did whatever he could to ease their travail.
The team, despite their recent travails, are still in the game.
Synonyms: toil, suffering, pain, stress More Synonyms of travail
More Synonyms of travail
travail in British English
(ˈtræveɪl) literary
noun
1.
painful or excessive labour or exertion
2.
the pangs of childbirth; labour
verb
3. (intransitive)
to suffer or labour painfully, esp in childbirth
Word origin
C13: from Old French travaillier, from Vulgar Latin tripaliāre (unattested) to torture, from Late Latin trepālium instrument of torture, from Latin tripālis having three stakes, from trēs three + pālus stake
travail in American English
(trəˈveɪl; ˈtrævˌeɪl)
noun
1.
very hard work; toil
2.
labor pains; pains of childbirth
3.
intense pain; agony
verb intransitive
4.
to work very hard; toil
5.
to have labor pains; suffer the pains of childbirth
Word origin
OFr < VL *tripalium, instrument of torture composed of three stakes < LL tripalis, of three stakes < L tri-, tri- + palus, a stake: see pale2
Examples of 'travail' in a sentence
travail
Maybe both teams' recent travails ensured the inhibiting spread of nerves early on.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
The travails of the financial sector are a long way from being settled yet.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
But public patience has been exhausted by its economic travails.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Will she refer to her recent travails?
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The flamboyant comic addresses his recent travails.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
His fans will hope his recent travails are not a sign of longterm decline.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
One senses that further triumphs and travails will ensue.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
Greece's economic travails are not some natural catastrophe.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Compared to his recent travails, it was something of a success.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
The recent travails of the England football team have finally proved too much to bear for the maker of their kit.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Sheer is about the current of understanding that passes between lovers, about the travails and triumphs of a longstanding romantic relationship.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
It was a good vantage point to put Britain's financial and political travails intoperspective.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Villa, for all their recent travails, have the infrastructure in place to challenge for honours.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Two things set the Beeb's current travails in stark relief.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Perhaps wisely given his own travails at the crease, he was not asked how to deal with slow left-arm.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
And, as recent tabloid travails have proven, it pays not to get too relaxed with the home help.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
A good part of Hungary's economic travails can be blamed on the bankers.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
1 (noun)
Definition
painful or exceptionally hard work
He did whatever he could to ease their travail.
Synonyms
toil
It is only toil which gives meaning to things.
suffering
It has caused terrible suffering to animals.
pain
Her eyes were filled with pain.
stress
labour
the labour of seeding, planting and harvesting
grind (informal)
Life continues to be a terrible grind for the ordinary person.
effort
A great deal of effort had been put into the planning.
tears
strain
She was tired and under great strain.
distress
Her mouth grew stiff with pain and distress.
sweat
hard work
slavery
hardship
slog
There is little to show for two years of hard slog.
exertion
panting from the exertion of climbing the stairs
drudgery
the drudgery of everyday life
2 (noun)
Synonyms
labour pains
labour
By the time she realised she was in labour, it was too late to get to the hospital.
childbirth
She wanted a natural childbirth.
birth pangs
(verb)
Synonyms
toil
Boys toiled in the hot sun to finish the wall.
labour
farmers labouring in the fields
grind (informal)
suffer
sweat
slave
slaving over a hot stove
slog
We've slogged at the project for months now.
drudge
Additional synonyms
in the sense of childbirth
Definition
the act of giving birth to a child
She wanted a natural childbirth.
Synonyms
child-bearing,
labour,
delivery,
lying-in,
confinement,
travail,
parturition,
accouchement
in the sense of distress
Definition
great physical pain
Her mouth grew stiff with pain and distress.
Synonyms
suffering,
pain,
worry,
anxiety,
torture,
grief,
misery,
agony,
sadness,
discomfort,
torment,
sorrow,
woe,
anguish,
heartache,
affliction,
desolation,
wretchedness
in the sense of drudge
Definition
to work at such tasks
Synonyms
toil,
work,
labour,
grind (informal),
slave,
plod,
plug away (informal),
moil (archaic, dialect),
keep your nose to the grindstone
Nearby words of
travail
trauma
traumatic
traumatize
travail
travel
traveller
travelling
Synonyms of 'travail'
travail
Explore 'travail' in the dictionary
Additional synonyms
in the sense of drudgery
Definition
uninteresting work that must be done
the drudgery of everyday life
Synonyms
labour,
grind (informal),
sweat (informal),
hard work,
slavery,
chore,
fag (informal),
toil,
slog,
donkey-work,
sweated labour,
menial labour,
skivvying (British)
in the sense of effort
Definition
physical or mental energy needed to do something
A great deal of effort had been put into the planning.
Synonyms
exertion,
work,
labour,
trouble,
force,
energy,
struggle,
stress,
application,
strain,
striving,
graft,
toil,
welly (slang),
hard graft,
travail (literary),
elbow grease (facetious),
blood, sweat, and tears (informal)
in the sense of exertion
Definition
effort or exercise, esp. physical effort
panting from the exertion of climbing the stairs
Synonyms
effort,
action,
exercise,
struggle,
industry,
labour,
trial,
pains,
stretch,
strain,
endeavour,
toil,
travail (literary),
elbow grease (facetious)
in the sense of grind
Definition
hard or tedious work
Life continues to be a terrible grind for the ordinary person.
Synonyms
hard work (informal),
labour,
effort,
task,
sweat (informal),
chore,
toil,
drudgery
in the sense of labour
Definition
productive work, esp. physical work done for wages
the labour of seeding, planting and harvesting
Synonyms
toil,
effort,
industry,
grind (informal),
pains,
sweat (informal),
slog (informal),
exertion,
drudgery,
travail,
donkey-work
in the sense of labour
Definition
the final stage of pregnancy, leading to childbirth
By the time she realised she was in labour, it was too late to get to the hospital.
Synonyms
childbirth,
birth,
delivery,
contractions,
pains,
throes,
travail,
labour pains,
parturition
in the sense of labour
Definition
to do physical work
farmers labouring in the fields
Synonyms
work,
toil,
strive,
work hard,
grind (informal),
sweat (informal),
slave,
endeavour,
plod away,
drudge,
travail,
slog away (informal),
exert yourself,
peg along or away (British),
plug along or away (informal)
in the sense of pain
Definition
emotional suffering
Her eyes were filled with pain.
Synonyms
sorrow,
suffering,
torture,
distress,
despair,
grief,
misery,
agony,
sadness,
torment,
hardship,
bitterness,
woe,
anguish,
heartache,
affliction,
tribulation,
desolation,
wretchedness
in the sense of slave
Definition
to work very hard for little or no money
slaving over a hot stove
Synonyms
toil,
labour,
grind (informal),
drudge,
sweat,
graft,
slog,
sweat blood,
skivvy (British),
work your fingers to the bone,
work your guts out,
keep your nose to the grindstone
in the sense of slog
Definition
long exhausting work
There is little to show for two years of hard slog.
Synonyms
work,
labour,
toil,
industry,
grind (informal),
effort,
struggle,
pains,
sweat (informal),
painstaking,
exertion,
donkey-work,
blood, sweat, and tears (informal)
Additional synonyms
in the sense of slog
Definition
to work hard and steadily
We've slogged at the project for months now.
Synonyms
work,
labour,
toil,
slave,
plod,
persevere,
plough through,
sweat blood (informal),
apply yourself to,
work your fingers to the bone,
peg away at,
keep your nose to the grindstone
in the sense of strain
Definition
tension or tiredness resulting from overwork or worry