as in nothing
something of little importance
the question of who will pick up the coffee is a mere bagatelle in the overall planning of the conference
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of bagatelle
Pinball is back Pinball got its start in 18th-century France with the billiardslike tabletop game bagatelle, which used a springlike launcher.
—
San Antonio Express-News, 5 Mar. 2020
Overall this novel is an entertaining bagatelle, told by a proficient storyteller in an engaging way.
—David Shribman, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2019
Lewis kept the scope of emotion in the first bagatelle more along the lines of concerned.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 11 May 2018
As far as performance marathons go, the 10 hours of John Zorn’s bagatelles on Saturday at National Sawdust in Brooklyn may not have been the most sprawling.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2016
San Antonio Express-News, 5 Mar. 2020
Overall this novel is an entertaining bagatelle, told by a proficient storyteller in an engaging way.
—David Shribman, BostonGlobe.com, 22 Aug. 2019
Lewis kept the scope of emotion in the first bagatelle more along the lines of concerned.
—Peter Dobrin, Philly.com, 11 May 2018
As far as performance marathons go, the 10 hours of John Zorn’s bagatelles on Saturday at National Sawdust in Brooklyn may not have been the most sprawling.
—Zachary Woolfe, New York Times, 24 Oct. 2016
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bagatelle
Noun
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My memoir was built of gaps, juxtaposition, weird little nothings.—
Cheri Lucas Rowlands,
Longreads,
16 Dec. 2024
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The one whose legs turned nothings into somethings, improvising the Lions’ entire defensive game plan into a pile of ash?—
Sean Keeler,
The Denver Post,
10 Feb. 2024
Noun
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Both aspired to some kind of soulful, intellectual seriousness at a moment when their work was pulling them toward mass appeal and triviality.—
Liz McNeil,
People.com,
16 July 2025
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His reinstatement of Rose and Jackson is no exception: History has become an irrelevant triviality — ignored or, even better, forgotten.—
Cory Franklin,
Twin Cities,
1 June 2025
Noun
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Stanley comes back to Frank, just a trifle triumphant, and announces that he’s got George C. Scott.—
Andrew Tobias,
Vulture,
7 July 2025
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Snack on Lavazza coffee mousse tennis balls, Lanson champagne choux and a Sipsmith vodka trifle, alongside warm scones, clotted cream and strawberry jam.—
Rachel Dube,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2025
Noun
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His credulity led to misadventures the details of which are so picayune that Chernow’s emphasis on them can be maddening.—
Graeme Wood,
The Atlantic,
9 May 2025
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Observers believe a flood of intervention into D.C. laws — from the sweeping to the picayune — is more likely than a total revocation of home rule (though there is a longshot bill for that, too).—
Cuneyt Dil,
Axios,
18 July 2024
Cite this Entry
“Bagatelle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bagatelle. Accessed 30 Jul. 2025.
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