English Explanatory Dictionary

trifle

English dictionary entry

Meanings

noun
  1. An English dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream.
  2. Anything that is of little importance or worth.
  3. An insignificant amount of money.
  4. A very small amount (of something).
  5. A particular kind of pewter.
  6. Utensils made from this particular kind of pewter.
verb
  1. To deal with something as if it were of little importance or worth.
  2. To act, speak, or otherwise behave with jest.
  3. To inconsequentially toy with something.
  4. To squander or waste.
  5. To make a trifle of, to make trivial.

Pronunciation

/ˈtɹaɪfəl/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-trifle.wav en-us-trifle.ogg

Word forms

trifle trifles trifling trifled

Etymology

From Middle English trifle, trifel, triful, trefle, truyfle, trufful, from Old French trufle (“mockery”), a byform of trufe, truffe (“deception”), of uncertain origin.

Synonyms

bagatelle bag of shells bric-a-brac dicky dicky-bird fico fig flamfew flyspeck minuity niff-naff picayune scuddick sop ticky-tack toy trick trifle triviality whiffle white chip smidgen ace atom atomy aught bissel bit crumb glimpse dab damn dash diddly glint dot spatter drop dusting fleck glimmer hint flip grain halfpennyworth inch iota jot lick mite modicum molecule morceau morsel mote ooch ounce particle pennyworth piece

Related words

easy thing modicum

Derived words

a trifle Black Forest trifle trifle with

Translations

Afrikaans: kleinigheid Bashkir: ваҡ-төйәк Bulgarian: дреболия Catalan: fotesa Catalan: galindaina Czech: maličkost Czech: drobnost Czech: hloupost Danish: småting Danish: bagatel Dutch: bagatel Dutch: zever Esperanto: bagatelo Finnish: pikkuasia Finnish: pikkujuttu French: babiole French: bricole French: broutille Galician: bagatela Galician: insignificancia Galician: balda Galician: parvada German: Kleinigkeit Irish: réadán Italian: cosa da poco Italian: inezia Italian: bagattella Latin: gerrae Latin: naucum Latin: tittibilīcium Latin: apinae Latin: nugae Macedonian: дребулија Māori: takunga Māori: takutakunga Māori: kanehe Māori: kāmuimui Norwegian Bokmål: småting Norwegian Nynorsk: småting Polish: fraszka Polish: drobiazg Polish: błahostka Polish: bzdet Polish: bagatela Polish: betka Portuguese: ninharia Portuguese: bugiganga Romanian: mărunțiș Russian: безделу́шка Russian: безде́лица Russian: пустя́к Russian: ме́лочь Serbo-Croatian: трича̀рија Serbo-Croatian: tričàrija Slovak: maličkosť Spanish: nadería Spanish: nimiedad Spanish: zarandaja Spanish: friolera Spanish: menudencia Spanish: quisquilla Spanish: pequeñez Swedish: bagatell Swedish: småsak Swedish: struntsak
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