Trifling — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working

waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/tɹˈaɪflɪŋ/

🇬🇧British English

/tɹˈaɪflɪŋ/

🇮🇳Indian English

/tɹˈaɪflɪŋ/

2 syllables Say it as /tɹˈaɪflɪŋ/.

Examples

He is trifling with her
She plays with the thought of moving to Tasmania
he considered the prize too paltry for the lives it must cost

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

dalliance negligible trifle piddle wanton away wanton dawdling piddle away frivol paltry dally play

Parts of Speech

noun	the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working
verb	waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
verb	act frivolously
verb	consider not very seriously “He is trifling with her”
adjective	not worth considering “he considered the prize too paltry for the lives it must cost”

Word Forms

dally	verb	waste time
dawdle	verb	waste time
trifle	verb	waste time; spend one's time idly or inefficiently
trifling	noun	the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working
trifler	noun	one who behaves lightly or not seriously
paltriness	noun	worthlessness due to insignificance

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Kleinigkeit

der bewusste Akt des Verzögerns und Spielens statt Arbeitens

🇫🇷French

insignifiant

l'acte délibéré de retarder et de jouer au lieu de travailler

🇪🇸Spanish

insignificante

el acto deliberado de retrasar y jugar en lugar de trabajar

🇮🇹Italian

insignificante

l'atto deliberato di ritardare e giocare invece di lavorare

🇳🇱Dutch

onbeduidend

de doelbewuste daad van uitstellen en spelen in plaats van werken

🇵🇹Portuguese

insignificante

o ato deliberado de atrasar e brincar em vez de trabalhar

🇷🇺Russian

пустяковый

преднамеренный акт отсрочки и игры вместо работы

India

🇮🇳Hindi

तुच्छ

देरी करने और काम करने के बजाय खेलने का जानबूझकर किया गया कार्य

🇮🇳Tamil

அற்பமான

வேலை செய்வதற்குப் பதிலாக தாமதப்படுத்தி விளையாடும் வேண்டுமென்றே செயல்

🇮🇳Telugu

అల్పమైన

ఆలస్యం చేయడం మరియు పని చేయడానికి బదులుగా ఆడే ఉద్దేశపూర్వక చర్య

🇮🇳Marathi

क्षुल्लक

काम करण्याऐवजी उशीर करणे आणि खेळण्याची जाणीवपूर्वक कृती

🇮🇳Gujarati

નાનકડી

કામ કરવાને બદલે વિલંબ અને રમવાનું ઇરાદાપૂર્વકનું કાર્ય

🇮🇳Kannada

ಕ್ಷುಲ್ಲಕ

ಕೆಲಸ ಮಾಡುವ ಬದಲು ವಿಳಂಬ ಮಾಡುವ ಮತ್ತು ಆಡುವ ಉದ್ದೇಶಪೂರ್ವಕ ಕ್ರಿಯೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

നിസ്സാരമായ

ജോലിക്ക് പകരം താമസിപ്പിക്കുകയും കളിക്കുകയും ചെയ്യുന്ന ബോധപൂർവമായ പ്രവൃത്തി

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮਾਮੂਲੀ

ਕੰਮ ਕਰਨ ਦੀ ਬਜਾਏ ਦੇਰੀ ਕਰਨ ਅਤੇ ਖੇਡਣ ਦਾ ਜਾਣਬੁੱਝ ਕੇ ਕੰਮ

🇵🇰Urdu

معمولی

کام کرنے کی بجائے تاخیر اور کھیلنے کا جان بوجھ کر کام

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

琐碎的

故意拖延和玩耍而不是工作的行为

🇯🇵Japanese

つまらない

仕事をせずに遅らせたり遊んだりする意図的な行為

🇰🇷Korean

하찮은

일을 하지 않고 고의적으로 미루고 노는 행위

🇻🇳Vietnamese

chuyện vặt vãnh

hành động cố ý trì hoãn và chơi thay vì làm việc

🇹🇭Thai

เรื่องขี้ปะติ๋ว

การจงใจล่าช้าและเล่นแทนการทำงาน

🇮🇩Indonesian

remeh

tindakan sengaja menunda dan bermain alih-alih bekerja

🇵🇭Filipino

walang kabuluhan

ang sadyang pag-antala at paglalaro sa halip na magtrabaho

🇲🇾Malay

meremehkan

perbuatan yang sengaja melengahkan masa dan bermain bukan bekerja

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

تافه

الفعل المتعمد المتمثل في التأخير واللعب بدلاً من العمل

🇮🇷Persian

بی اهمیت

عمل عمدی تاخیر و بازی به جای کار کردن

🇹🇷Turkish

önemsiz

çalışmak yerine kasıtlı geciktirme ve oynama eylemi

🇮🇱Hebrew

שֶׁל מַה בְּכַך

הפעולה המכוונת של עיכוב ומשחק במקום לעבוד

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'trifling'?

The primary meaning of 'trifling' is 'the deliberate act of delaying and playing instead of working'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'trifling' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'trifling' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'trifling' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'trifling' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'trifling' in your daily reading?

Very Often

Occasionally

Rarely

Never

Do you find 'trifling' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

Somewhat easy

A bit confusing

Extremely hard

In your opinion, does the word 'trifling' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

Vibrant

Which age group is most likely to use 'trifling' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'trifling' in a professional email?

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Never

Would you classify 'trifling' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

Casual

Slang

Archaic

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