Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Trifle
Tri′fle
,Noun.
[OE.
trifle
, trufle
, OF. trufle
mockery, raillery, trifle, probably the same word as F. truffe
truffle, the word being applied to any small or worthless object. See Truffle
.] 1.
A thing of very little value or importance; a paltry, or trivial, affair.
With such poor
trifles
playing. Drayton.
Trifles
light as airAre to the jealous confirmation strong
As proofs of holy writ.
Shakespeare
Small sands the mountain, moments make year,
And
And
frifles
life. Young.
2.
A dish composed of sweetmeats, fruits, cake, wine, etc., with syllabub poured over it.
Tri′fle
,Verb.
I.
[
imp. & p. p.
Trifled
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Trifling
.] To act or talk without seriousness, gravity, weight, or dignity; to act or talk with levity; to indulge in light or trivial amusements.
They
trifle
, and they beat the air about nothing which toucheth us. Hooker.
To trifle with
, to play the fool with; to treat without respect or seriousness; to mock; as, to trifle with one’s feelings, or with sacred things.
Tri′fle
,Verb.
T.
1.
To make of no importance; to treat as a trifle.
[Obs.]
Shak.
2.
To spend in vanity; to fritter away; to waste;
“We trifle time.” as, to
. trifle
away moneyShak.
Webster 1828 Edition
Trifle
TRI'FLE
,Noun.
With such poor trifles playing.
Moments make the year, and trifles, life.
Trifles
Are to the jealous confirmations strong.
TRI'FLE
,Verb.
I.
They trifle, and they beat the air about nothing which toucheth us.
1.
To indulge in light amusements.To trifle with, to mock; to play the fool with; to treat without respect or seriousness.
To trifle with, to spend in vanity; to waste.
To trifle away, to no good purpose; as, to trifle with time, or to trifle away time; to trifle with advantages.
TRI'FLE
,Verb.
T.
Definition 2024
trifle
trifle
English
Noun
trifle (countable and uncountable, plural trifles)
- An English dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream.
- An insignificant amount.
- 1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 17, in Well Tackled!:
- Commander Birch was a trifle uneasy when he found there was more than a popple on the sea; it was, in fact, distinctly choppy. Strictly speaking, he ought to have been following up the picket–boat, but he was satisfied that the circumstances were sufficiently urgent for him to take risks.
-
- Anything that is of little importance or worth.
- Shakespeare
- Trifles light as air / Are to the jealous confirmation strong / As proofs of holy writ.
- Drayton
- with such poor trifles playing
- Shakespeare
- A particular kind of pewter.
- (uncountable) Utensils made from this particular kind of pewter.
Synonyms
See also: Wikisaurus:trifle.
- (insignificant amount): iota, jot, scrap, whit
- (thing of little importance or worth): bagatelle, minor detail, whiffle
Derived terms
Translations
dessert
insignificant amount
|
thing of little importance or worth
|
|
utensils made from this kind of pewter
|
See also
Verb
trifle (third-person singular simple present trifles, present participle trifling, simple past and past participle trifled)
- (intransitive) To deal with something as if it were of little importance or worth.
- (intransitive) To act, speak, or otherwise behave with jest.
- (intransitive) To inconsequentially toy with something.
- (transitive) To squander or waste.
Translations
To deal with something as if it were of little importance or worth
To act, speak, or otherwise behave with jest
To inconsequentially toy with something
To squander or waste