frivolity

noun

fri·​vol·​i·​ty fri-ˈvä-lə-tē How to pronounce frivolity (audio)
plural frivolities
Synonyms of frivolitynext
1
: the quality or state of being frivolous
He has no patience for frivolity.
2
: a frivolous act or thing
He spends money on the latest fashions and other frivolities.

Synonyms

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of frivolity in a Sentence

He has no patience for frivolity. He spends money on the latest fashions and other frivolities.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The sketch is an expression of all the things Everybody’s Live does best: sincere love and admiration for cultural iconography, forced through a sieve of surreal frivolity. — Kathryn Vanarendonk, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025 Values are whatever drives us and can include family, faith or frivolity. — Mary E. Dozier, CNN, 16 Mar. 2025 That moment of frivolity aside, everyone involved in Nest of Singing Birds knows how fragile their music eco-system is now. — David Browne, Rolling Stone, 2 Mar. 2025 One was the dot-com collapse, which flattened the bubbly frivolity of early e-commerce. — Gideon Lewis-Kraus, The New Yorker, 19 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for frivolity

Word History

Etymology

see frivolous

First Known Use

1764, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of frivolity was in 1764

Rhymes for frivolity

See All Rhymes for frivolity

Browse Nearby Words

frivolity
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Frivolity.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/frivolity. Accessed 23 Mar. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

frivolity

noun
fri·​vol·​i·​ty friv-ˈäl-ət-ē How to pronounce frivolity (audio)
plural frivolities
1
: the quality or state of being frivolous
2
: a frivolous act or thing

More from Merriam-Webster on frivolity

Nglish: Translation of frivolity for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden

More Words with Remarkable Origins

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments
See More

Popular Features

See More

The Difference Between 'i.e.' and 'e.g.'

What do SCOTUS, POTUS, and FLOTUS mean?

Flower Etymologies For Your Spring Garden
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
dog-in-disguise
Rhyme Disguise Quiz Pair up words that look different but sound alike.
See All