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

"My portable unit delivers about 2.6 kilowatts of cooling. It's about one kilowatt of electricity, so it's probably about 22p an hour for me to run. It's not trivial."

From BBC

De minimis is a Latin term that broadly translates to "about the smallest things", often used in legal contexts to describe matters too trivial to merit concern.

From BBC

“Most presidents begin their day with something this trivial,” a former White House official told me.

From Salon

Is the information in your books trivial, or do you think it’s important to get readers to understand geography and the way our culture passes down myths and tales?

From Los Angeles Times

Even stories deemed trivial or embarrassing were scrubbed: no "sensational" reporting on a notorious bandit and no mention of a Bollywood actress caught shoplifting in London.

From BBC

Related Words

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