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
Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
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
Adjective
Frankly, the more trifling the crime, the better this franchise’s comedy aspirations would work.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025
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
-
Show more And on Monday, hospital staff accomplished a minor medical feat: doctors birthed triplets in a cesarean section procedure that the delivering physician said would have been complicated and risky even in the best of times.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
20 June 2025
-
There were some minor disadvantages to this method, Boyle admits, mostly due to Apple’s user-friendly camera software.—
Jake Kleinman,
Wired News,
20 June 2025
Adjective
-
Advertisement Even with such protections, the slightest communication advantage is worrying in the wrong hands, especially when deployed at a mass scale.—
Andrew Luttrell,
Time,
24 June 2025
-
Monday saw some dips and slight drops, but the market rebounded and closed up almost 1%.—
Megan Poinski,
Forbes.com,
24 June 2025
Verb
-
Their stars are blatantly flirting with their audiences, tiptoeing the line between cringe and attractive.—
Leah Asmelash,
CNN,
9 Mar. 2025
-
The trouble is that Musk’s own record of facilitating and flirting with hate speech, often in a trollish manner, invites belligerent response.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
7 Mar. 2025
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
-
The veteran would be a small upgrade in the outfield for the Padres.—
Zach Pressnell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 July 2025
-
Deerhoof is a small mom and pop operation, and know when enough is enough.—
Walden Green,
Pitchfork,
30 June 2025
Adjective
-
Treats and train rides are available for a nominal fee.—
Pomerado News,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 June 2025
-
Presumably, the series can conclude when our nominal adults finally do get grown.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
25 June 2025
Adjective
-
The Soviet Union, in the confusion and wreckage left by the war, was wasting little time installing client regimes in Eastern Europe.—
Joshua Yaffa,
New Yorker,
23 June 2025
-
Taylor, meanwhile, became a meme at the end of last year as fans couldn’t get enough of her performance as Young Nessarose, Elphaba’s little sister, in Wicked.—
Stephen Daw,
Billboard,
23 June 2025
Adjective
-
The film is described as an intense drama about two Palestinian refugees living in Athens, caught between petty scams and the hope of a better life in Germany.—
Glenn Garner,
Deadline,
21 June 2025
-
In the end, what started as a petty doormat rivalry has turned into something much more joyful.—
Alice Gibbs,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trifling. Accessed 4 Jul. 2025.
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