1
as in minor
lacking importance
deciding what you want to do for a living is no trifling matter
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slight
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention
trifling differences between the theatrical and DVD versions of the movie
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in flirting
to show a sexual attraction for someone just for fun
do not trifle with me unless you mean to ask me to marry you
Synonyms & Similar Words
2
as in playing
to spend time in aimless activity
spent a lazy afternoon trifling on the front porch
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of trifling
IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2010
And yet the movie’s insularity feels trifling and empty.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2024
The cost to find these answers, even in the near term, is relatively trifling.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2023
Aside from bacteria, the smallest genome belongs to the intestinal parasite Encephalitozoon intestinalis, with a trifling 2.3 billion base pairs.
—Kirsten Weir, Discover Magazine, 12 June 2011
Growing immunity against the coronavirus, repeatedly reinforced by vaccines and infections, could eventually tame COVID into a sickness as trifling as the common cold or, at worst, one on par with the seasonal flu.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2022
Specific as Ozon’s approach here may be (nothing feels accidental or arbitrary), his lovingly made curio, which often borrows verbatim from its predecessor, comes off a bit tired and trifling.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2022
Bonus: these tweets are usually about the most trifling and hilarious pop culture moments, so ... win win!
—Danielle Young, The Root, 2 June 2017
Adjective
With that much water needed for even the most trifling tasks, the natural question becomes: How does that water reach those data centers, let alone the world’s farms and factories?
—IEEE Spectrum, 28 May 2010
And yet the movie’s insularity feels trifling and empty.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 Feb. 2024
The cost to find these answers, even in the near term, is relatively trifling.
—Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2023
Aside from bacteria, the smallest genome belongs to the intestinal parasite Encephalitozoon intestinalis, with a trifling 2.3 billion base pairs.
—Kirsten Weir, Discover Magazine, 12 June 2011
Growing immunity against the coronavirus, repeatedly reinforced by vaccines and infections, could eventually tame COVID into a sickness as trifling as the common cold or, at worst, one on par with the seasonal flu.
—Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 15 Dec. 2022
Specific as Ozon’s approach here may be (nothing feels accidental or arbitrary), his lovingly made curio, which often borrows verbatim from its predecessor, comes off a bit tired and trifling.
—Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2022
Bonus: these tweets are usually about the most trifling and hilarious pop culture moments, so ... win win!
—Danielle Young, The Root, 2 June 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trifling
Adjective
-
Aftershocks are typically minor adjustments along the portion of a fault that slipped at the time of the initial earthquake.—
William B. Davis,
New York Times,
28 Mar. 2025
-
The incident, while ultimately only a minor one, did impact the rest of their vacation.—
Paul Du Quenoy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
27 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
International museums in 2024 collectively experienced a slight dip in attendance that marks a return to normalcy in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, the Art Newspaper reports.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Good Night and Good Luck, starring George Clooney, was the highest grossing show on Broadway again last week, even as its grosses took a slight dip.—
Caitlin Huston,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Apr. 2025
Verb
-
The Pacers are flirting with the luxury tax.—
Tony East,
Forbes,
22 Dec. 2024
-
The drama is contagious because Lexi is going after Ciara because Jesse Solomon keeps flirting with her.—
Brian Moylan,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2024
Verb
-
Deion Sanders began his NFL career with the Falcons in 1989, also playing baseball for the New York Yankees and Atlanta Braves well into the 1990s.—
Dan Pompei,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
-
Then something strange happened — the Falcons started playing like one of the best defenses in the league.—
Josh Kendall,
The Athletic,
26 Dec. 2024
Adjective
-
Lee already had six permanent tattoos –– small ones easily hidden by clothing –– and thought this was a good opportunity to try out a more visible tattoo.—
Alyssa Goldberg,
USA Today,
7 Apr. 2025
-
With any luck, a little digestive distress will be just a small trade-off for getting past your illness and feeling like yourself again.—
Beth Krietsch,
SELF,
7 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
For adults, the service would be available for a nominal fee.—
Federico Guerrini,
Forbes.com,
2 Apr. 2025
-
These games will be purchasable standalone on the eShop and presumably at retail, or upgraded to for a nominal fee for existing owners of the game, much like how the PS5 handles its cross-gen upgrades.—
Jason D. Greenblatt,
MSNBC Newsweek,
2 Apr. 2025
Adjective
-
Governed by a growth mindset devoted to the logic of disruption, moving fast and breaking things, a flourishing structure of feeling about AI and art history has sprung up on the grounds of very little AI-and-art-history to have feelings about.—
Sonja Drimmer,
Artforum,
1 Apr. 2025
-
Instead Doom: The Dark Ages is flatly colored, with little contrast, and less visually interesting enemies that tote around cruel looking shields simply for the sake of the setting.—
Kazuma Hashimoto,
Rolling Stone,
31 Mar. 2025
Adjective
-
Mixed in with small pleasures and petty disputes with her older sister are true feats of survival and bravery.—
Lynette Rice,
Deadline,
22 Mar. 2025
-
Gangs stop petty thievery in their own neighborhoods.—
Walter E Block,
Orange County Register,
22 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trifling. Accessed 13 Apr. 2025.
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