trivial
adjective
Did you know?
When English speakers adopted the word trivial from Latin trivialis in the 16th century, they used it to mean just what its Latin ancestor meant: "found everywhere, commonplace." But the source of trivialis is about something more specific: trivium, from tri- (three) and via (way), means "crossroads; place where three roads meet." The link between the two presumably has to do with the commonplace sorts of things a person is likely to encounter at a busy crossroads. Today, the English word typically describes something barely worth mentioning. Such judgments are, of course, subjective; feel free to mention this bit of trivia to anyone and everyone who crosses your path.
Did you know?
Trivial comes from a Latin word meaning "crossroads"—that is, where three roads come together. Since a crossroads is a very public place where all kinds of people might show up, trivialis came to mean "commonplace" or "vulgar." Today the English word has changed slightly in meaning and instead usually describes something barely worth mentioning. Mathematicians use the word to refer to the mathematically simplest case, but the rest of us tend to use it just to mean "unimportant." "Small talk" at a party, for example, is usually trivial conversation. To trivialize something is to treat it as if it doesn't matter, as if it is just another triviality.
Synonyms
Examples of trivial in a Sentence
Muriel Spark, Curriculum Vitae, (1992) 1993
I had never heard anyone speak of their parents in this way; I never even knew you could make them seem trivial …
—Jamaica Kincaid, Lucy, 1990
But the last tribute was to be a struggle among states for possession of the trivial remains of a man who in life had known as much revilement as honor.
—Robert Penn Warren, Jefferson Davis Gets His Citizenship Back, 1980
statistics and other trivial matters
a trivial sum of money
Compared to her problems, our problems seem trivial.
Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 13 Nov. 2024
What might feel like trivial small talk is actually an invitation for connection.
—Mark Travers, Forbes, 27 Oct. 2024
And a 2013 Tribune investigation documented how some suburban leaders stacked local electoral boards with allies who knocked rivals off the ballot over trivial and debatable paperwork mistakes.
—Joe Mahr, Chicago Tribune, 13 Oct. 2024
The identity element always forms a subgroup by itself, called the trivial subgroup.
—Leila Sloman, WIRED, 6 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for trivial 
Dictionary Entries Near trivial
Cite this Entry
“Trivial.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trivial. Accessed 26 Nov. 2024.
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trivial
adjective
from Latin trivialis "found everywhere, commonplace, trivial," from trivium "a place where three roads meet," from tri- "three" and via "way"
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