as in nothing
something of little importance
the question of who will pick up the coffee is a mere bagatelle in the overall planning of the conference
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bagatelle
Pinball is back Pinball got its start in 18th-century France with the billiardslike tabletop game bagatelle, which used a springlike launcher.
—
San Antonio Express-News, 5 Mar. 2020
Overall this novel is an entertaining bagatelle, told by a proficient storyteller in an engaging way.
—David Shribman, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2019
Lewis kept the scope of emotion in the first bagatelle more along the lines of concerned.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 11 May 2018
As far as performance marathons go, the 10 hours of John Zorn’s bagatelles on Saturday at National Sawdust in Brooklyn may not have been the most sprawling.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2016
San Antonio Express-News, 5 Mar. 2020
Overall this novel is an entertaining bagatelle, told by a proficient storyteller in an engaging way.
—David Shribman, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2019
Lewis kept the scope of emotion in the first bagatelle more along the lines of concerned.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 11 May 2018
As far as performance marathons go, the 10 hours of John Zorn’s bagatelles on Saturday at National Sawdust in Brooklyn may not have been the most sprawling.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bagatelle
Noun
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When Dana, who, like Virginia, had been successful in writing pleasant but undistinguished nothings—in her case, songs for Billy Rose’s revues—decided to try taking on more serious music by studying with Boulanger, Virginia entered a deep downward spiral.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
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Why did her mom press so hard for the littlest of nothings?—
Danielle Parker,
CBS News,
4 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Society has rationalized the human into triviality, and we’re stuck in a bad game.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Who was this irritant who had eluded the most sophisticated lawmen in the country, thanks to the triviality of his crimes?—
David Grann,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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First, pour cranberries into a trifle bowl and fill it with water.—
Helena Madden,
Martha Stewart,
6 Jan. 2026
-
Guests tucked into slabs of soda bread with lashings of butter and chicken pot pie, washed down by flights of Baileys on ice and second helpings from a trifle cart.—
Freya Drohan,
Vogue,
12 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Bagatelle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bagatelle. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.
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