Standard Lemma guide

trifling

adj · noun · verb · 7 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.

  • /ˈtɹaɪfliŋ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: T R AY1 F L IH0 NG Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Trivial, or of little importance.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

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

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Frivolous.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Good-for-nothing; shady or lazy; scrub.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: now chiefly African-American Vernacular

Examples

  • You trifling good for nothin’ type of brother.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

The act of one who trifles; frivolous behaviour.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: countable, uncountable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

present participle and gerund of trifle

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: form-of, gerund, participle, present

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

not worth considering

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he considered the prize too paltry for the lives it must cost
  • piffling efforts
  • a trifling matter

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: negligible, paltry

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: dalliance, dawdling

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: delay, holdup

History

Etymology

By surface analysis, trifle + -ing.

Across languages

Translations

47 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: незначителен (neznačitelen) — trivial
  • Bulgarian: маловажен (malovažen) — trivial
  • Catalan: insignificant — trivial
  • Chinese: 區區 /区区 (khu-khu) — trivial
  • Chinese Mandarin: 瑣碎 /琐碎 (suǒsuì) — trivial
  • Finnish: mitätön — trivial
  • French: futile — trivial
  • Georgian: უმნიშვნელო (umnišvnelo) — trivial
  • Georgian: მწირი (mc̣iri) — trivial
  • Georgian: მცირე (mcire) — trivial
  • German: unbedeutend — trivial
  • Irish: fánach — trivial
  • Irish: suarach — trivial
  • Italian: insignificante — trivial
  • Latin: levis — trivial
  • Latin: frīvolus — trivial
  • Latin: sublestus — trivial
  • Macedonian: неважен (nevažen) — trivial
  • Macedonian: незначаен (neznačaen) — trivial
  • Macedonian: безначаен (beznačaen) — trivial
  • Māori: aweke — trivial
  • Māori: kūrapa — trivial
  • Persian: پیش پا افتاده (piš-e pâ-oftâde) — trivial
  • Portuguese: trivial — trivial
  • Portuguese: insignificante — trivial
  • Romanian: mărunt — trivial
  • Romanian: neînsemnat — trivial
  • Russian: пустя́чный (pustjáčnyj) — trivial
  • Russian: ме́лкий (mélkij) — trivial
  • Russian: незначи́тельный (neznačítelʹnyj) — trivial
  • Sanskrit: तुच्छ (tuccha) — trivial
  • Spanish: trivial — trivial
  • Spanish: de pitiminí — trivial
  • Spanish: de chichinabo — trivial
  • Spanish: de chicha y nabo — trivial
  • Spanish: insignificante — trivial
  • Spanish: sin importancia — trivial
  • Swedish: obetydlig — trivial
  • Tamil: உப்பு பெறாத (uppu peṟāta) — trivial
  • Turkish: ıvır zıvır — trivial
  • Turkish: abidik gubidik) — trivial
  • Ottoman Turkish: یسیر (yesir) — trivial
  • Welsh: dibwys — trivial
  • Welsh: diwerth — trivial
  • German: Leichtfertigkeit — the act of one who trifles
  • German: leichtfertiges Benehmen — the act of one who trifles
  • Irish: áilleagánacht — the act of one who trifles