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trivial

UK/ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/US/ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/
adjectiveB2+2 meaningsCommon in everyday speech and writing · #6,277 of 15,258neutral

Trivial means too small and unimportant to bother with. A trivial matter, trivial detail, far from trivial.

It is dismissive, and calling somebody's concern trivial is a reliable way of causing offence. In mathematics it has a precise sense: a trivial solution is one that is technically correct and uninteresting, like zero. Non-trivial in that world means genuinely difficult. Note trivia; and that the Latin trivium is a place where three roads meet — common, public and so unremarkable.

Definitions of trivial

  1. 1adjectivetrivialToo small and unimportant to bother with.B2+

    “Don't bother the manager with trivial complaints about the colour of the pens.”

    synonyms: minor, insignificant

  2. 2adjectivecorrectTechnically correct and uninteresting, in mathematics.C2

    “Setting every value to zero gives the trivial solution, which tells us nothing new.”

trivial is a quality of unimportance.

Also accepted in games: minor, petty

Practised in Sharper Adjectives

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