What does "trifle" mean?
An English dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream.
Trifle
/ˈtɹaɪfəl/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: An English dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream.
- Grammar: trifle is listed as noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: triviality, a continental, a curse, a damn.
- Useful contrasts: appreciate, esteem, functional object.
- Usage evidence: Don't worry about such a trifle thing.
How to use "trifle"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trifle" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "trifle" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "trifle" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "trifle" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "trifle" is acting as noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "triviality" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "trifle", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 An English dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream. countable, uncountable
"It is interesting to watch the surface joviality on screen while racism is layered between courses like soggy trifles."
- 2 something of small importance wordnet
- 3 Anything that is of little importance or worth. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"Trifles light as air / Are to the jealous confirmation strong / As proofs of holy writ."
- 4 a detail that is considered insignificant wordnet
- 5 Anything that is of little importance or worth.; An insignificant amount of money. countable, figuratively, uncountable
"A trifle, some eight-penny matter."
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 a cold pudding made of layers of sponge cake spread with fruit or jelly; may be decorated with nuts, cream, or chocolate wordnet
- 7 A very small amount (of something). countable, figuratively, uncountable
"This Line leaves out […] Poplar and Black-vvall, vvhich are indeed contiguous, a Trifle of Ground excepted, and very populous."
- 8 A particular kind of pewter. countable, uncountable
- 9 Utensils made from this particular kind of pewter. uncountable
Verb
- 1 To deal with something as if it were of little importance or worth. intransitive
"You must not trifle with her affections."
- 2 consider not very seriously wordnet
- 3 To act, speak, or otherwise behave with jest. intransitive
"[…] playing and trifling are completely banished out of my mind […]"
- 4 act frivolously wordnet
- 5 To inconsequentially toy with something. intransitive
"Mr. Micawber, leaning back in his chair, trifled with his eye-glass and cast his eyes up at the ceiling […]"
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently wordnet
- 7 To squander or waste. transitive
"We trifle time: I pray thee, pursue sentence."
- 8 To make a trifle of, to make trivial. obsolete, transitive
"[…] but this sore night / Hath trifled former knowings."
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Don't worry about such a trifle thing."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trifle"?
Common synonyms include: triviality, a continental, a curse, a damn, a darn, a hoot.
How do you use "trifle" in a sentence?
Don't worry about such a trifle thing.
How do you pronounce "trifle"?
Pronounced /ˈtɹaɪfəl/.
Etymology
From Middle English trifle, trifel, triful, trefle, truyfle, trufful, from Old French trufle (“mockery”), a byform of trufe, truffe (“deception”), of uncertain origin.