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
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
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
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
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
Adjective
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
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
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
Verb
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trifling
Adjective
-
The postmortem highlighted nearly two dozen laws that the city attorney’s office identified as affecting Meridian city business, some requiring minor tweaks to standard practices and others necessitating city-code overhauls.—
Rose Evans
June 6,
Idaho Statesman,
6 June 2026
-
His identity is not being made public after Roach issued an order on Friday barring public identification of any minor witnesses.—
Matt Lavietes,
NBC news,
6 June 2026
Adjective
-
The 37 mm case, integrated bracelet, and dial are crafted in 18-karat gold, with the eight white-gold screws on the bezel providing only the slightest bit of contrast.—
Rachel Cormack,
Robb Report,
6 June 2026
-
Pivoting effortlessly from family man to ruthless felon, Cranston once again puts his acting range on full display, with a nuanced performance that is underscored by the knowledge that the slightest misstep could cost him — and his family — their lives.—
Kevin Jacobsen,
Entertainment Weekly,
6 June 2026
Verb
-
Pawol was flirting with potential history early in Friday's game.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
5 June 2026
-
While global average sea surface temperature is flirting with record highs, sea surface temperatures are near normal in the main region of the Atlantic where hurricanes develop, according to the Climate Reanalyzer at the University of Maine's Climate Change Institute.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
1 June 2026
Verb
-
New York leads, 12-7, after a pair of early 3-pointers and by playing fast to try to get ahead of the defense of Victor Wembanyama.—
Andrew Greif,
NBC news,
4 June 2026
-
Hanging on his wall as inspiration was a rhapsodic review of My Left Foot, which earned Daniel Day-Lewis his first Oscar for playing a guy with cerebral palsy.—
Lacey Rose,
HollywoodReporter,
3 June 2026
Adjective
-
The National Federation of Independent Business has warned that small businesses and consumers who rely on energy, rather than oil giants, will end up holding the bag.—
Yaël Ossowski,
Boston Herald,
30 May 2026
-
But as funding from cap-and-invest and the climate bond dwindle, the state must increasingly turn to Cal Fire, which devotes only a small portion of its budget to mitigation work.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 May 2026
Adjective
-
The quality adjustment problem does not reside in nominal GDP, which simply asks what was spent, earned, or produced in current dollars, but rather in the deflator applied to convert those nominal figures into real terms.—
James Broughel,
Forbes.com,
6 June 2026
-
In a recent client note, Thomas argued that real interest rates, or the difference between nominal rates and inflation, were much higher under Greenspan and thus more restrictive then, giving the Fed leeway.—
Jeff Cox,
CNBC,
5 June 2026
Verb
-
Zeus did not approve of his daughter fooling around with this mortal roughneck hunter and put out a hit on Orion.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
8 Mar. 2026
-
The transition was rough for Ansari, who wasn’t fluent in English and often got in trouble for fooling around in school.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
When Gary Vernon began riding mountain bikes in Arkansas almost 40 years ago, there was very little infrastructure intended for riders without deep experience—or a devil-may-care attitude.—
Arati Menon,
Condé Nast Traveler,
7 June 2026
-
Emergency reserves have little oil to spare and fuel stockpiles are facing critical lows as peak summer demand months approach.—
Devika Krishna Kumar,
Fortune,
6 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trifling. Accessed 8 Jun. 2026.
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