noun
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the state or quality of being trivial
-
something, such as a remark, that is trivial
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of triviality
Explanation
Triviality is a quality of being unimportant or insignificant. You might dislike most reality TV shows because of their triviality, preferring to watch documentaries about serious subjects. You can also use the word triviality to mean an unimportant detail: "Let's discuss world peace instead of focusing on trivialities like what's for lunch or which celebrities are getting divorced!" It comes from the Latin word trivium, which means "commonplace," but also "crossroads." Literally, it's a combination of tri, or "three," and via, "road." Hence, a trivium is an oh-so-ordinary "place where three roads meet."
Vocabulary lists containing triviality
Coraline
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Legendary Frybread Drive-In
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Surviving the Applewhites
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Some of her patients apologized for the seeming triviality of their traumas compared with the horrors she survived.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
“The era’s descriptors of femininity — sweetness, triviality, softness and indulgence — all became associated with chocolate,” CNN’s Casey Barber wrote.
From Salon • Feb. 17, 2025
She honored those traces even as she ironically nailed their indefensible triviality.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 27, 2024
He also took aim at the newspaper articles submitted as evidence of illicit newsgathering, saying they offered a "breathtaking level of triviality".
From BBC • May 12, 2023
Every question Saget threw at him, he tossed aside, as if it were a triviality.
From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
