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
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
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
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
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
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
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
-
While minor, the crashes point to challenges in object recognition and spatial awareness, particularly in complex parking or tight urban environments.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
16 May 2026
-
The Porter County Election Board worked through some minor kinks with the county’s new voting equipment during the election certification at noon on Friday in the tabulation room of the Elections & Registration Office.—
Shelley Jones,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
Reading scores, meanwhile, continued to decline during that period, reaching their lowest point since 1990 in eighth graders and pre-2003 levels for fourth graders; only last year did some states start to see slight improvements.—
Connor Greene,
Time,
16 May 2026
-
Sunny skies and warm temperatures are expected in Laurel on Saturday, with highs near 83 degrees before a slight chance of showers moves in late Saturday night, according to the National Weather Service.—
Baltimore Sun staff,
Baltimore Sun,
16 May 2026
Verb
-
Because if Vitello can’t handle a simple case of a star player forgetting the outs at a critical juncture of the game against an archrival, who is to say what will be accepted next for a team that’s already flirting with effective playoff elimination?—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
15 May 2026
-
Disney, which was in the process of buying ABC, was also flirting with launching a news network.—
Cynthia Littleton,
Variety,
14 May 2026
Verb
-
At a press conference Wednesday announcing the bill, lawmakers cited studies showing that the cost of playing youth sports has risen by 46% in five years, with many families paying more than $5,000 per child for a single season.—
Kenny Jacoby,
USA Today,
14 May 2026
-
The 16-year-old Sullivan collected his first career MLS goal, playing a cross to Ben Bender and finishing the return pass to cut the deficit to 3-2.—
Kyle Foley,
The Orlando Sentinel,
14 May 2026
Adjective
-
Eggs, sushi, and crypto The account paid attention to smaller stories, too.—
Eva Roytburg,
Fortune,
16 May 2026
-
East is a boutique hotel, some condos, and a small residential neighborhood with a few local restaurants.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
16 May 2026
Adjective
-
Eligible organizations may request up to $200,000, and clinics must provide free or nominal-fee services, including representation, taxpayer education, and advocacy.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
9 May 2026
-
However, Fulmer said that the society worries that if the mansion is sold, even for a nominal amount, then the end of public maintenance funding could have a striking effect on the face of the building.—
Kansas City Star,
Kansas City Star,
8 May 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
-
Rami feared the worst, but head coach Didier Deschamps reasoned that there was little to gain from laying down the law when the mood in the camp was so positive and elected to forgive him.—
Tom Williams,
New York Times,
17 May 2026
-
Veterans of the Civil Rights Movement are alarmed by the speed of the rollbacks, noting that protections won through generations of sacrifice have been weakened in little more than a decade.—
Kim Chandler,
Chicago Tribune,
16 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Trifling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trifling. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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