trivial

The word “trivial” means of little importance or significance. In plain terms, unimportant, minor, or (in a different sense) very simple to do.

“Trivial” is pronounced TRIHV-ee-uhl (/ˈtɹɪv.i.əl/ in IPA).

Here is “trivial” used in a sentence: “Don't waste time arguing over such a trivial detail.”

The opposite of “trivial” — its antonyms — are nontrivial, important, significant, radical and fundamental.

“Trivial” is an adjective.

The word “trivial” comes from Latin. From Latin triviālis, "commonplace," from trivium ("crossroads") — the same root as "trivia.".

“Trivial” is an uncommon word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Trivial” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: of little importance or significance.

Trivial describes something of very little importance or significance, often implying it barely matters at all, while minor simply means smaller in degree or scale compared to something else, without necessarily suggesting it is unimportant. A minor injury, for instance, can still require real attention, whereas a trivial detail is one that can safely be ignored.

Trivial can describe both something unimportant and something requiring very little effort or skill, so it overlaps with easy in that second sense. Easy focuses purely on the level of difficulty, while trivial often carries the added implication that the task is so simple it hardly deserves attention.

In mathematics and computing, trivial is often used to describe a problem, proof, or solution that requires very little effort or is obvious once stated, matching the sense of trivial meaning very easy. This technical use is common when describing simple special cases that need no elaborate reasoning.