as in nothing
something of little importance
let us not speak of trifles when our nation may be going to war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
1
as in to flirt
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 to play
to spend time in aimless activity
spent a lazy afternoon trifling on the front porch
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of trifle
Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 23 June 2025
That's just a trifle fainter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 13 June 2025
Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 26 Apr. 2023
Arsenal might be informed that things could have ended differently had Arteta spent a trifling $120 million on a striker in January.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for trifle
Noun
Break out the trifle bowl, this layered recipe will dazzle at the potluck.
—Nellah Bailey McGough, Southern Living, 23 June 2025
That's just a trifle fainter than Sirius, the brightest star in the sky.
—Joe Rao, Space.com, 13 June 2025
Verb
Such a drastic move would represent China throwing down the gauntlet to the United States and Europe, brushing aside as trifling any Western threats of economic punishment.
—Liana Fix, Foreign Affairs, 26 Apr. 2023
Arsenal might be informed that things could have ended differently had Arteta spent a trifling $120 million on a striker in January.
—Rory Smith, New York Times, 29 Mar. 2024
See All Example Sentences for trifle
Recent Examples of Synonyms for trifle
Noun
-
My memoir was built of gaps, juxtaposition, weird little nothings.—
Cheri Lucas Rowlands,
Longreads,
16 Dec. 2024
-
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
Verb
-
The just as playful music video shows both artists annoyed with each other (but also flirting) during a TV interview.—
Jessica Roiz,
Billboard,
25 July 2025
-
Rae flirts with the lens, before the clip cuts to Sombr driving a classic car.—
Tomás Mier,
Rolling Stone,
24 July 2025
Verb
-
Cash, 47, played for Francona when the Reds manager helmed the Boston Red Sox and then served as Francona’s bullpen coach in Cleveland before becoming the Rays’ manager.—
C. Trent Rosecrans,
New York Times,
26 July 2025
-
Messi and Alba practiced with the club Friday in anticipation of playing in Saturday’s match before MLS announced the suspension.—
Chantz Martin,
FOXNews.com,
26 July 2025
Noun
-
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
-
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
Verb
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That isn’t the case in this bundle, which sees $200 slashed off of not only a keyboard, but also a stylus that can be used to write and doodle on the 12-inch Vivid PixelSense display like paper.—
Jade Chung-Lee,
PC Magazine,
11 June 2025
-
That transgression continued two years later, when Duchamp doodled a mustache and beard on a postcard of Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa and called it L.H.O.O.Q., which, when spoken aloud in French, sounded like an obscenity.—
Eli Wizevich,
Smithsonian Magazine,
27 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Trifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/trifle. Accessed 29 Jul. 2025.
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