Synonyms of trifling

trifling 1 of 2

adjective

ˈtrī-f(ə-)liŋ 

1

as in minor

lacking importance

deciding what you want to do for a living is no trifling matter

Synonyms & Similar Words

• minor
• small
• little
• slight
• trivial
• unimportant
• worthless
• inconsiderable
• insignificant
• incidental
• frivolous
• nugatory
• inconsequential
• foolish
• petty
• negligible
• small-fry
• minute
• Mickey Mouse
• neither here nor there
• fiddling
• one-horse
• small-time
• obscure
• paltry
• jerkwater
• anonymous
• unknown
• nickel-and-dime
• nameless
• uncelebrated

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• major
• important
• substantial
• significant
• big
• momentous
• meaningful
• fatal
• weighty
• consequential
• eventful
• decisive
• material
• principal
• fateful
• chief
• remarkable
• dominant
• worthy
• valuable
• outstanding
• impressive
• prominent
• overriding
• exceptional
• worthwhile
• distinctive
• overbearing
• great
• unfrivolous
• eminent
• overmastering
• distinguished
• basic
• illustrious
• fundamental
• famous
• essential
• notorious
• prestigious
• key
• renowned
• all-important
• preeminent

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

• slight
• nominal
• petty
• trivial
• inconsiderable
• insignificant
• tiny
• piddling
• inconsequential
• piffling
• negligible
• footling
• niggling
• paltry
• picayune
• minute
• measly
• pimping
• piddly
• Mickey Mouse
• chicken
• no-account
• inappreciable
• peanut
• imperceptible
• little
• puny
• de minimis
• inferior
• pettifogging
• mean
• small-fry
• one-horse
• quibbling
• hairsplitting
• nitpicking
• two-bit

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• considerable
• important
• significant
• serious
• big
• substantial
• material
• consequential
• remarkable
• conspicuous
• striking
• outstanding
• noteworthy
• prominent
• weighty
• momentous
• appreciable
• pivotal
• measurable
• eventful
• discernible

trifling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of trifle

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

• flirting
• coquetting
• toying
• messing around
• dallying
• frivoling
• wooing
• courting
• vamping
• teasing
• razzing
• fooling
• kidding
• playing (with)
• ribbing
• mashing
• leading on
• joshing
• putting on
• stringing along
• manipulating

2

as in playing

to spend time in aimless activity

spent a lazy afternoon trifling on the front porch

Synonyms & Similar Words

• playing
• fooling around
• fiddling (around)
• goofing (around)
• doodling
• pottering (around)
• puttering (around)
• hanging about
• messing around
• monkeying (around)
• idling
• loafing
• fribbling
• dawdling
• lounging
• kicking around
• hanging (around or out)
• dallying
• lolling
• horsing around
• tinkering
• clowning (around)
• dillydallying
• diddling (with)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• setting (to)
• settling (down)
• buckling (down)
• knuckling down

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of trifling

Adjective

Cut to terra ferma, where the almighty rainstorm soaking the streets of Rome seems a comparatively trifling bit of weather. — Guy Lodge, Variety, 7 Sep. 2026

In less trifling hands, there’s no telling what these tools could do, are doing now. — Chris Colin, Wired News, 18 May 2026

Meanwhile, that global temperature record that DiCaprio mentioned in his acceptance speech in 2016 seems almost trifling compared to what has happened since. — Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2026

The health factor is no trifling qualifier for a player who has missed time with shoulder and oblique injuries, in addition to that unfortunate incident with his pelvic floor. — Andrew Baggarly, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026

Talk of mounting nuclear readiness towards Russia, which has more atomic weapons than any other country in the world, could overshadow more trifling domestic matters, like the Epstein scandal, for instance. — Matthew Chance, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2025

Pixar has long stood out by bringing something less trifling to theatergoing families. — David Sims, The Atlantic, 15 July 2025

The cost to find these answers, even in the near term, is relatively trifling. — Phil Plait, Scientific American, 30 Oct. 2023

Verb

In the mid-19th century, the question was of trifling interest to mapmakers, who had far more than four colors at their disposal and saw no particular reason to restrict their palette. — Gregory Barber, Quanta Magazine, 10 Sep. 2026

But that still left the less-than-trifling matter of the second tier’s title to settle, as the teams were locked together on 97 points with one game still to play. — Richard Sutcliffe, New York Times, 1 May 2026

The rise may seem trifling, but staffers work long hours, and a caffeine budget is a necessity. — Lauren Green, The Washington Examiner, 7 Feb. 2026

The aging Airy had devoted his observatory to stellar measurements that now produced trifling improvements to navigation. — Literary Hub, 27 Oct. 2025

But those trifling problems aren’t for Jane to worry about. — Ashlee Conour, Chicago Tribune, 2 Sep. 2025