toils 1 of 2

plural of toil
as in tangle
something that catches and holds a married woman hopelessly caught in the toils of an extramarital affair

Synonyms & Similar Words

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toils

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of toil

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for toils
Noun
  • The shoes stirred something deeper — a tangle of racial and social complexities that came with simply wanting to buy, own, or even wear them.
    Tiana Randall, Forbes.com, 1 Apr. 2025
  • Even actor Kevin Bacon has found his way into this tangle of out-of-state donors.
    Philip Elliott, Time, 31 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Big mistake: Kitchens get plenty dirty already, but the top of your refrigerator can be a veritable dust trap.
    Lauren Phillips, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Mar. 2025
  • Too many ambitious people fall into the trap of chasing other people’s definitions of discipline instead of their own.
    Kody Boye, USA Today, 26 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Additionally, the jail struggles to provide adequate food, and unsanitary food distribution practices have left detainees vulnerable to malnutrition, pest infestations and other harms.
    Dan Perry, Newsweek, 4 Jan. 2025
  • But Moore sometimes struggles to take responsibility in the way expected of leaders.
    Colin Pascal, Baltimore Sun, 2 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • Talk into the night devolves into an intricate web of deception, seduction and revelation, where the lives of all involved may be destroyed or transformed.
    Greg Evans, Deadline, 27 Mar. 2025
  • Ivey’s coaching staff also casts a web of support to protect her from outside noise and aid her vision for the team’s present and future.
    Sharí Nycole, Essence, 26 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • Eggers and his go-to production designer Craig Lathrop also put a unique emphasis on building realistic worlds—their production design strives extra hard to close gaps between Eggers’s olden aesthetic and the modern audience’s perception.
    Maya Ibbitson, Architectural Digest, 23 Dec. 2024
  • The company strives to be more than just a pet product brand.
    FunnyFuzzy Contributor, Forbes, 23 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • Whereas empathy can lead to emotional entanglement that can distort decision-making, compassionate objectivity acknowledges and validates emotions without being overtaken by them.
    Tim Maurer, Forbes, 23 Mar. 2025
  • This isn’t Conrad’s first legal entanglement over data access.
    Jordan Novet, CNBC, 18 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • The former calls for a counterfactual view of how testing works; the latter calls for political will and policy ideas not currently in evidence.
    Peter Greene, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2024
  • The office also works with the Connecticut State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit, which investigates the cause and origin of fires and arson.
    Sean Krofssik, Hartford Courant, 30 Nov. 2024
Noun
  • In addition to his work in the wind ensemble, Gael has been a key member of the marching band and indoor drumline, serving as lead snare drummer.
    Heide Janssen, Orange County Register, 16 Mar. 2025
  • Echoing the raw feelings of heartbreak, the album is stripped back, with sparse snares and cymbals in lieu of a full drumkit.
    Jessica Nicholson, Billboard, 20 Feb. 2025
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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“Toils.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/toils. Accessed 5 Apr. 2025.

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