Meanings
- not comparableA little, slightly.
Could you lend me some money? I'm a trifle short of what I need to pay the rent.
5 more examples
He contemplated the large well-proportioned letters and final flourish, with his head a trifle on one side for an instant […]
1871–1872, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], chapter 23, in Middlemarch […], volume (please specify |volume=I to IV), Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, →OCLC, book III"[…
1916, James Branch Cabell, The Certain HourCommander 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.
1928, Lawrence R. Bourne, chapter 17, in Well Tackled!He stared at the chart. “Maybe we’ll move away towards the west a trifle, and come down on Fiji from the north.”
1957, Nevil Shute [pseudonym; Nevil Shute Norway], On the Beach, London: William HeinemannI know it's out of fashion / And a trifle uncool / But I can't help it / I'm a romantic fool
1980, Mark Gane, “Echo Beach”, performed by Martha and the MuffinsSynonyms: a bit, a bit, a little, a little bit, a mite, a smidgen, a smidgeon, a tad
Synonyms & antonyms
adverbA little, slightly.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Esperanto iomete
- iometeslightly
Cite this entry
a trifle. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20trifle
“a trifle.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20trifle. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “a trifle,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/a%20trifle.
Source: a trifle on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.