What does "trivial" mean?
Any of the three liberal arts forming the trivium.
Trivial
/ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/ adj, noun
adj, noun ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: Any of the three liberal arts forming the trivium.
- Grammar: trivial is listed as adj, noun.
- Nearest alternatives: airy, ankle deep, ankle-deep, asinine.
- Useful contrasts: fundamental, important, massive.
- Usage evidence: Mr Yoshimoto taught us many trivial matters.
How to use "trivial"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "trivial" 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 "trivial" 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 "trivial" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "trivial" 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 "trivial" is acting as adj, noun 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 "airy" 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 "trivial", 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 Any of the three liberal arts forming the trivium. obsolete
"Tryuyals, & quatryuyals, ſo ſore now they appayre That Parrot the Popagay, hath pytye to beholde How the reſt of good lernyng, is roufled vp & trold"
Adjective
- 1 Ignorable; of little significance or value.
""All which details, I have no doubt, Jones, who reads this book at his Club, will pronounce to be excessively foolish, trivial, twaddling, and ultra-sentimental.""
- 2 Commonplace, ordinary.
"As a scholar, meantime, he was trivial, and incapable of labour."
- 3 Concerned with or involving trivia.
- 4 Relating to or designating the name of a species; specific as opposed to generic.
- 5 Of, relating to, or being the simplest possible case.
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 Of, relating to, or being the simplest possible case.; Containing only one element; having an underlying set which is a singleton.
- 7 Self-evident.
- 8 Pertaining to the trivium.
- 9 Indistinguishable in case of truth or falsity.
Adjective
- 1 (informal) small and of little importance wordnet
- 2 concerned with trivialities wordnet
- 3 of little substance or significance wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"Mr Yoshimoto taught us many trivial matters."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "trivial"?
Common synonyms include: airy, ankle deep, ankle-deep, asinine, banal, base.
How do you use "trivial" in a sentence?
Mr Yoshimoto taught us many trivial matters.
How do you pronounce "trivial"?
Pronounced /ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/.
Etymology
PIE word *tréyes * From Latin triviālis (“appropriate to the street-corner, commonplace, vulgar”), from trivium (“place where three roads meet”). Compare trivium, trivia. * From the distinction between trivium (“the lower division of the liberal arts; grammar, logic and rhetoric”) and quadrivium (“the higher division of the seven liberal arts in the Middle Ages, composed of geometry, astronomy, arithmetic, and music”).