trivialize
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Usage
What does trivialize mean? Trivialize means to cause something to appear unimportant or insignificant, as in Gabe tried to trivialize the D he got in math, but his parents still grounded him. Trivialize is a verb form of the adjective trivial. It’s often used by the person being trivialized, rather than by the person doing the trivializing. Example: Do not trivialize the effort that was put into my project.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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have trivializedperfect
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has trivializedperfect 3rd person singular
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am trivializingprogressive 1st person singular
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is trivializingprogressive 3rd person singular
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are trivializingprogressive
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trivializessingular 3rd person
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have been trivializingperfect progressive
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trivializingparticiple
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has been trivializingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had trivializedperfect
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had been trivializingperfect progressive
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were trivializingprogressive plural
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trivializedparticiple
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was trivializingprogressive singular
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trivializedsimple
Future
Etymology
Origin of trivialize
Explanation
When you trivialize something, you make it seem less important than it really is. Some people complain that TV news tends to trivialize complicated political stories. If your friend tends to trivialize your problems and worries, he dismisses them as being too small to fret about, which might make you feel like he's not taking you seriously. If you trivialize your own health concerns, other people might not realize how sick you're feeling. When you trivialize an issue, you make it look more trivial than it is, or less significant. The Latin root of both trivialize and trivial is trivialis, "common, commonplace, or vulgar."
Vocabulary lists containing trivialize
Martin Scorsese on Cinema
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The Big Thirst
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"How the Media Twists the News"
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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.
Palmieri and Halpin reflect the ignorant mindset described by Stephen L. Carter, an Episcopalian and Yale professor of law, in his 1993 book, “The Culture of Disbelief: How American Law and Politics Trivialize Religious Devotion.”
From Seattle Times • Oct. 22, 2016
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.
