trivial

[triv-ee-uhl]

adjective

1. of very little importance or value; insignificant.

   Don't bother me with trivial matters.

   Synonyms: trifling, frivolous, inconsequential, immaterial, slight, nugatory, unimportant
   Antonyms: important

2. commonplace; ordinary.

3. Biology.,  (of names of organisms) specific, as distinguished from generic.

4. Mathematics.

   1. noting a solution of an equation in which the value of every variable of the equation is equal to zero.

   2. (of a theorem, proof, or the like) simple, transparent, or immediately evident.

5. Chemistry.,  (of names of chemical compounds) derived from the natural source, or of historic origin, and not according to the systematic nomenclature.

   Picric acid is the trivial name of 2,4,6-trinitrophenol.

trivial

/ ˈtrɪvɪəl /

adjective

1. of little importance; petty or frivolous

   trivial complaints

2. ordinary or commonplace; trite

   trivial conversation

3. maths (of the solutions of a set of homogeneous equations) having zero values for all the variables

4. biology denoting the specific name of an organism in binomial nomenclature

5. biology chem denoting the popular name of an organism or substance, as opposed to the scientific one

6. of or relating to the trivium

Other Word Forms

• trivially adverb
• supertrivial adjective
• untrivial adjective
• untrivially adverb
• trivialness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trivial¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin triviālis “belonging to the crossroads or street corner,” hence “commonplace,” equivalent to tri- “three” + vi(a) “road” + -ālis adjective suffix; tri-, -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of trivial¹

C15: from Latin triviālis belonging to the public streets, common, from trivium crossroads, junction of three roads, from _tri- + via road

Synonym Study

See petty.

Example Sentences

Such trivial concerns were left to lesser schools, institutions that perhaps couldn’t appreciate the sanctity of a 10-week regular season, the purity of life without football scholarships, or the venerable tradition of Harvard-Yale.

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The fact that it was a parlor game, not pointillism, that inspired the lyric is proof of Sondheim’s credo that “playful doesn’t mean trivial any more than solemn means serious.”

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One habit that precluded improvement was their reading of trivial romantic novels.

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That might sound trivial, but traveling is stressful enough.

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She called the BBC's findings "disturbing", adding: "There's enormous risks. It's not a trivial condition."

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Related Words

• commonplace 
• frivolous 
• immaterial 
• incidental 
• inconsequential 
• insignificant 
• irrelevant 
• meaningless 
• minor 
• negligible 
• paltry 
• petty 
• superficial 
• trite 
• unimportant