Trivial
['trɪvɪəl]
Definition
(adj.) concerned with trivialities; 'a trivial young woman'; 'a trivial mind' .
Editor: Trudy--From WordNet
Definition
(a.) Found anywhere; common.
(a.) Ordinary; commonplace; trifling; vulgar.
(a.) Of little worth or importance; inconsiderable; trifling; petty; paltry; as, a trivial subject or affair.
(a.) Of or pertaining to the trivium.
(n.) One of the three liberal arts forming the trivium.
Edited by ELLA
Synonyms and Synonymous
a. [1]. [Rare.] Common, ordinary, vulgar.[2]. Trifling, petty, small, frivolous, slight, light, nugatory, worthless, paltry, unimportant, inconsiderable, insignificant, immaterial, of little value, of little consequence.
Typed by Claire
Synonyms and Antonyms
SYN:Trifling, trite, common, unimportant, useless, nugatory, paltry,inconsiderable
ANT:Important, weighty, critical, original, novel
Edited by Lizzie
Definition
adj. that may be found anywhere of little importance; trifling: common vernacular.—v.i. Triv′ialise to render paltry.—ns. Triv′ialism a trivial matter or remark; Trivial′ity the state or quality of being trivial: that which is trivial a trifle.—adv. Triv′ially.—ns. Triv′ialness; Triv′ium in medieval schools the name given to the first three liberal arts—viz. grammar rhetoric and logic.
Typed by Lillian
Examples
- Do not allow a trivial misunderstanding to wither the blossoms of spring, which, once put forth and blighted, cannot be renewed. Charles Dickens. David Copperfield.
- They reveal a depth and range of meaning in experiences which otherwise might be mediocre and trivial. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- In the midst of all this magnificence, the solid gold and silver furniture of the altar seemed cheap and trivial. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- One or two of them are so trivial, said Dr. Trevelyan, that really I am almost ashamed to mention them. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- He yielded himself to the charm of trivial preoccupations, wondering at what hour her reply would be sent, with what words it would begin. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- Nothing, for example, could on the surface be more trivial than an interest in baseball scores. Walter Lippmann. A Preface to Politics.
- No graceful little adornment, no fanciful little device, however trivial, anywhere expressed her influence. Charles Dickens. Hard Times.
- So insolent, so trivial, so capricious, so mercenary, so careless, so hard to touch, so hard to turn! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
- Before they parted, she had to thank him for another pleasure, and one of no trivial kind. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
- The literary style is good, there are only a few trivial slips in spelling, and the appreciation is keen of what would be interesting news and gossip. Frank Lewis Dyer. Edison, His Life and Inventions.
- The first words I could say to her were the words which put that trivial question at that important moment. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- On the other hand, although it is trivial, it is undoubtedly queer, and I know that you have a taste for all that is out of the common. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- Great effects may spring from trivial causes, she remarked, as she loosened a bracelet from her wrist. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Every society gets encumbered with what is trivial, with dead wood from the past, and with what is positively perverse. John Dewey. Democracy and Education.
- From this trivial and anatomical observation is derived that vast difference betwixt the education and duties of the two sexes. David Hume. A Treatise of Human Nature.
- Their most trivial action may mean volumes, or their most extraordinary conduct may depend upon a hairpin or a curling tongs. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
- She was a great talker upon little matters, which exactly suited Mr. Woodhouse, full of trivial communications and harmless gossip. Jane Austen. Emma.
- The message was absurd and trivial. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
- Mrs. Peniston was a small plump woman, with a colourless skin lined with trivial wrinkles. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- They parted with apparent unconcern, as if their going apart were a trivial occurrence. D. H. Lawrence. Women in Love .
- But, indeed, if you are trivial, I cannot blame you, for the days of the great cases are past. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- The pedestrian noticed nothing just now, and a clue to her abstraction was afforded by a trivial incident. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- It is strange that so trivial an occupation should have consoled, and even enlivened me. Mary Shelley. The Last Man.
- I only quote this as a trivial example of observation and inference. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- All he said was, I'll serve you out, Miss, when your aunt's gone, and laughed off the accident as quite trivial. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- These are but trivial incidents to recount in the life of our heroine. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
- How poor, and cheap, and trivial these gew-gaws seemed in presence of the solemnity, the grandeur, the awful majesty of Death! Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- But in avoiding the sensational, I fear that you may have bordered on the trivial. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
- Lily would have been surprised to know how many trivial facts concerning herself were lodged in Miss Stepney's head. Edith Wharton. The House of Mirth.
- The most trivial, paltry, insignificant part; the merest commonplace; not a tolerable speech in the whole. Jane Austen. Mansfield Park.
Typed by Lillian