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trivial

adjective

ˈtri-vē-əl How to pronounce trivial (audio)
Definition of trivialnext
1
as in minor
lacking importance why spend so much time on trivial decisions, like whether the soda should be regular or diet?

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slight
so small or unimportant as to warrant little or no attention figured that restaurant customers wouldn't notice such a trivial surcharge on their bill

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of trivial The differences—native language, religious and cultural background—seemed trivial. — Literary Hub, 27 Aug. 2026 More importantly, Votee’s training costs, while not trivial, are still significantly smaller than frontier labs. — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026 The trivial and the momentous can be connected; small deviations can set us on larger paths. — Joshua Rothman, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026 For an older defendant or someone dependent on several prescription medications, these are not trivial concerns. — Walter Pavlo, Forbes.com, 18 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for trivial
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trivial
  1. minor
  2. slight
  3. small
  4. nominal
  5. little
  6. petty
  7. unimportant
  8. insignificant
Adjective
  • Once in orbit at L2, only minor burns once every 28 days are needed for station keeping — a negligible amount of fuel.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Everyone wants better decisions, particularly when their own team is on the wrong end of an injustice, minor or major.
    — Oliver Kay, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of minor
Adjective
  • Another clever stunt that Althoff pulled off on the The Really Good Podcast was that she was involved in a slight-of-hand brand stunt with L’Oreal’s CeraVe.
    — Anthony D'Alessandro, Deadline, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Chubb was a slight disappointment in his Bills debut from a pass-rushing perspective.
    — Joe Buscaglia, New York Times, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of slight
Adjective
  • Then handle the smaller responsibilities competing for your attention.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Its compact permanent magnet motor enables a smaller pod diameter, reducing hydrodynamic drag while maintaining high propulsion performance.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of small
Adjective
  • For a nominal sum, the paper each day serves up authoritative accounts of sports events that occurred as much as a day earlier, give or take.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The calculation refers to nominal total returns, combining coupon income and changes in the bond's market price.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of nominal
Adjective
  • That’s right — after three straight Friday-night deadlines, Gameweek Four gets under way at 3pm on Saturday, handing you that little bit of extra time to agonise over the right moves for the next round of action.
    — Ben Dinnery, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Jongmin Lee, a quantum sensing scientist at SNL, has been working to build an extremely small version of this device, one that consumes very little power and can be used in the field.
    — Ameya Paleja, Interesting Engineering, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of little
Adjective
  • The good and the bad of democracy — healthy debate and petty political theater — were on display that weekend in Brussels.
    — Esther King, The Dial, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Mehring’s characters include petty criminals, unscrupulous lawyers, Galician Jews, Freikorps heavies, local and international businessmen, Prussian generals, and the everyday citizens inhabiting the streets of Berlin’s old and rather dingy center.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 Sep. 2026
Definition of petty
Adjective
  • The Analyst can spend all their time answering urgent but unimportant requests.
    — Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 28 July 2026
  • Wright agrees that the findings shouldn’t be interpreted to mean that omega-3s are unimportant for the brain.
    — Mira Miller, Verywell Health, 14 July 2026
Definition of unimportant
Adjective
  • Five Arabic coffee shops might seem like an insignificant number in the vast metropolitan sprawl.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 16 Sep. 2026
  • The decision that seemed insignificant at the time but actually explains why the company exists.
    — Rich Bornstein, Forbes.com, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of insignificant

Browse Nearby Words

trivia
trivial
trivialities
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Cite this Entry

“Trivial.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trivial. Accessed 19 Sep. 2026.

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