Note: The translation for this entry is currently under quality review. Some content is temporarily displayed in English only.
trivial
/ˈtɹɪ.vi.əl/
Carries a dismissive tone, suggesting that something is not worth the time, effort, or attention being given to it. It describes things that are small-scale or inconsequential in a way that often implies annoyance when those things are treated as important.
In technical contexts like mathematics or computer science, the word shifts from "unimportant" to "obvious." A trivial solution is one that is so simple it requires no complex reasoning to find, though in these circles, calling someone's work "trivial" can be seen as a slight, implying the problem was too easy.
💬Casual Conversation
ugh my prof is making us write a whole reflection paper on basically nothing. it's so pointless.
OH DEAR. THAT SOUNDS LIKE A TRIVIAL THING TO STRESS OVER. YOU WILL BE FINE.
Meanings
Examples
The dispute was over a trivial matter of seating arrangements.
The solution to the equation is trivial for an experienced mathematician.
Collocations & Compounds
trivial pursuit
A board game in which players answer general knowledge questions to win wedges.
We spent the evening playing trivial pursuit.
trivial matter
An issue or subject that is unimportant or insignificant.
Don't worry about the spilled coffee; it's a trivial matter.
trivial detail
A specific point or feature that is minor and of little consequence.
He got bogged down in trivial details and lost sight of the main objective.
trivial error
A mistake that is small and has no significant impact.
The report contained only a few trivial errors.
trivial case
An instance or example that is of little importance or significance.
This is a trivial case and doesn't require legal intervention.
Cultural Context
The word trivial has a fascinating duality, oscillating between the mundane and the mathematically profound. While we commonly use it to describe things of little importance, its cultural footprint was cemented in the 1980s by the global phenomenon Trivial Pursuit. This game transformed the act of recalling trivial facts—details that serve no immediate practical purpose in survival or professional success—into a high-stakes social currency. It tapped into a specific human psychological drive: the desire for intellectual mastery over the obscure. By gamifying the insignificant, it proved that the accumulation of trivial knowledge could be a source of immense social prestige and cognitive satisfaction.
However, in the rigorous world of mathematics and logic, trivial takes on a completely different, almost paradoxical meaning. When a mathematician describes a proof or a solution as trivial, they are not insulting the problem's importance. Instead, they are indicating that the solution follows immediately from established axioms or is so straightforward that it requires no complex derivation. This creates a linguistic divide where a trivial matter in a boardroom is a nuisance, but a trivial proof in a lecture hall is an elegant efficiency. This tension between the uselessly small and the effortlessly simple highlights how language adapts to the needs of different intellectual disciplines, turning a word for insignificance into a marker of logical clarity.
Etymology
The word 'trivial' comes from the Latin word 'trivialis', meaning 'of or pertaining to a crossroads', which itself is derived from 'trivium', meaning 'a place where three roads meet' (a public place). In ancient Rome, public places like crossroads were often sites for ordinary, commonplace discussions and gossip. Thus, by the late 14th century, 'trivial' in English had come to mean 'commonplace, ordinary, not profound', and subsequently, 'unimportant or insignificant'.