Standard Lemma guide

frivolous

adj · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈfɹɪv.ə.ləs/
  • California, Southern: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Queensland Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: F R IH1 V AH0 L AH0 S Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Silly, especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner; lacking a good reason for being, or for doing what one does; due to or moved by a caprice or whim.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • trifling ((literary)

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of little weight or importance; not worth notice; slight; trivial.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: base, contemptible, floccinaucinihilipilificatious, foolish, for the birds, futile, frivolous, idle, ignorable, immaterial, inconsequential, inconsiderable, indifferent, insignificant, like a fart in a windstorm, meager, mean, minor, miserable, negligible, nothingburger, nondescript, null, paltry, petty, picayune, picayunish, piddling, piddly, pissant, pissass, piteous, pitiful, pointless, silly, simple, slight, ticky-tacky, tin-pot, trifling, trivial, two-bit, unimportant, unweighty, vain, worthless, wretched

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Having no reasonable prospect of success because its claim is without merit, lacking a supporting legal or factual basis, while the filing party is, or should be, aware of this.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: law

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

adjective

Meaning 4

not serious in content or attitude or behavior

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a frivolous novel
  • a frivolous remark
  • a frivolous young woman

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: serious

History

Etymology

From Latin frīvolus (“silly, empty, trifling, frivolous, worthless”), with the ending modified to match -ous.

Across languages

Translations

92 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: ligsinnig — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Arabic: جهلان (gahlān) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Arabic: طايش (tʕayeʃ) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Armenian: թեթեւամիտ (tʻetʻewamit) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Azerbaijani: yüngül — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Azerbaijani: dingiliş — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Azerbaijani: yelbeyin — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Bulgarian: лекомислен (lekomislen) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Bulgarian: несериозен (neseriozen) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Bulgarian: повърхностен (povǎrhnosten) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Catalan: frívol — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Chinese Mandarin: 輕狂 /轻狂 (qīngkuáng) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Dutch: frivool — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Dutch: lichtzinnig — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Dutch: wuft — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Esperanto: vanta — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Esperanto: facilanima — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Finnish: naurettava — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Finnish: typerä — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Finnish: idioottimainen — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Finnish: kevytmielinen — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Finnish: hölmö — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • French: frivole — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Galician: frívolo — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Georgian: არასერიოზული (araseriozuli) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Georgian: დაუფიქრებელი (daupikrebeli) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Georgian: ფუქსავატი (puksavaṭi) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • German: albern — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • German: leichtfertig — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • German: flatterhaft — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Greek: επιπόλαιος (epipólaios) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Greek: ελαφρός (elafrós) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Ancient Greek: ῥᾴθυμος (rhāíthumos) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Ido: frivola — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Italian: frivolo — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Latin: frīvolus — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Latvian: vieglprātīgs — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Latvian: viegls — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Macedonian: несерио́зен (neseriózen) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Macedonian: леко́мислен (lekómislen) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Macedonian: по́вршен (póvršen) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Malay: semberono — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Malay: sambil lewa — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Māori: ngahangaha — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Māori: ngākau pāpaku — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Norwegian Bokmål: frivol — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: frivol — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Polish: bezmyślny — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Portuguese: frívolo — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Russian: несерьезный (neserʹjeznyj) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Russian: легкомысленный (lexkomyslennyj) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Russian: ветреный (vetrenyj) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Russian: пове́рхностный (povérxnostnyj) — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Scottish Gaelic: faoin — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Spanish: frívolo — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Swedish: frivol — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Turkish: hoppa — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Turkish: salak — silly; especially at an inappropriate time or in an inappropriate manner
  • Armenian: չնչին (čʻnčʻin) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Armenian: դատարկ (datark) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Catalan: frívol — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Catalan: tonto — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Catalan: trivial — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Finnish: mitätön — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Finnish: jonninjoutava — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • French: bagatelle — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • French: bricole — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Georgian: უმნიშვნელო (umnišvnelo) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Greek: ελαφρός (elafrós) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Latin: frīvolus — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Macedonian: незначи́телен (neznačítelen) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Macedonian: не́важен (névažen) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Malay: remeh-temeh — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Māori: hangahanga — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Māori: ngākau pāpaku — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Māori: aweke — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Māori: ngahangaha — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Māori: tihitihi — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Māori: hauarea — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Polish: błahy — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Portuguese: frívolo — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Russian: незначи́тельный (neznačítelʹnyj) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Russian: нева́жный (nevážnyj) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Russian: пустяковый (pustjakovyj) — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Scottish Gaelic: faoin — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Spanish: frívolo — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Spanish: banal — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Spanish: nimio — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Spanish: trivial — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Turkish: boş — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Turkish: önemsiz — of little weight or importance; not worth notice
  • Turkish: havai — of little weight or importance; not worth notice