trivial
Use Trivial in a sentence
i adjective
1.
of very little importance or value; insignificant: Don't bother me with trivial matters.
2.
commonplace; ordinary.
3.
Biology. (of names of organisms) specific, as distinguished from generic.
4.
Mathematics.
a.
noting a solution of an equation in which the value of every variable of the equation is equal to zero.
b.
(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.
Origin:
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin triviālis belonging to the crossroads or street corner, hence commonplace, equivalent to tri- tri- + vi(a) road + -ālis -al1
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin triviālis belonging to the crossroads or street corner, hence commonplace, equivalent to tri- tri- + vi(a) road + -ālis -al1
Related forms
triv·i·al·ly, adverb
su·per·triv·i·al, adjective
un·triv·i·al, adjective
un·triv·i·al·ly, adverb
Synonyms
1. unimportant, nugatory, slight, immaterial, inconsequential, frivolous, trifling. See petty.
1. unimportant, nugatory, slight, immaterial, inconsequential, frivolous, trifling. See petty.
Antonyms
1. important.
1. important.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2013.
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Link To trivial
00:10
Trivial
is always a great word to know.
So is zygote. Does it mean:
| the seas and atmosphere on earth before the existence of life, primarily containing a mixture of water, hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and carbon dioxide |
| the cell produced by the union of two gametes before it undergoes cleavage or cell division |
Collins
World English Dictionary
trivial (ˈtrɪvɪəl) ![[Click for IPA pronunciation guide]](http://static.sfdict.com/dictstatic/g/d/dictionary_questionbutton_default.gif) | |
| —adj | |
| 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 |
| [C15: from Latin triviālis belonging to the public streets, common, from trivium crossroads, junction of three roads, from | |
| 'trivially | |
| —adv | |
| 'trivialness | |
| —n | |
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 10th Edition
2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
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2009 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009
Cite This Source
Etymonline
Word Origin & History
trivial
early 15c., "of the trivium," from M.L. trivialis, from trivium "first three of the seven liberal arts," from L., lit. "place where three roads meet," from tri- "three" + via "road." The basic notion is of "that which may be found anywhere, commonplace, vulgar." The meaning "ordinary" (1580s) and "insignificant"
(1590s) were in L. trivialis "commonplace, vulgar," originally "of or belonging to the crossroads." The verb trivialize is attested from 1846.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
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Slang Dictionary
trivial
adj.1. Too simple to bother detailing.
2. Not worth the speaker's time.
3. Complex, but solvable by methods so well known that anyone not utterly cretinous would have thought of them already.
4. Any problem one has already solved (some claim that hackish `trivial' usually evaluates to `I've seen it before'). Hackers' notions of triviality may be quite at variance with those of non-hackers. See nontrivial, uninteresting.
The physicist Richard Feynman, who had the hacker nature to an amazing degree (see his essay "Los Alamos From Below" in "Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman!"), defined `trivial theorem' as "one that has already been proved".
Jargon
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Example sentences
The equations that describe reality today have more than one non-trivial solution.
Today's poem names a connection between the trivial and the deadly serious.
The solution there is inflation-adjusting your taxable profits, which is trivial in the computer age.
The challenges are not trivial, but the promise is great.
Nearby Words
Synonyms
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