trivial
gb/tɹˈɪviəl/ us/tɹˈɪviəl/
B2
English
~ 6300
jelentéktelen, apró, lényegtelen, egyszerű, könnyű, pofonegyszerű, triviális, banális, felszínes, súlytalan
B2
1
Usage pattern:
[something] is trivial
They argued for hours over a completely trivial matter.
Órákig vitatkoztak egy teljesen jelentéktelen ügyön.
Try not to get upset about such trivial problems.
Próbálj meg nem idegeskedni ilyen jelentéktelen problémák miatt.
Compared to climate change, this seems rather trivial.
The report is full of trivial details that add nothing to the main point.
He tends to treat even non-trivial issues as if they were trivial.
Learner examples
Please do not worry about this trivial mistake.
Kérlek, ne aggódj ezen az apró hibán.
We should not waste time on trivial things.
Nem kellene időt pazarolnunk jelentéktelen dolgokra.
The fight started over something very trivial.
This question is trivial for our company.
Her problems are not trivial to her, even if they seem small to you.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use "trivial" for anything "small" in size, even when it is actually important (for example, "a trivial cut" when it may be medically serious). "Trivial" is about importance, not physical size. Some also confuse "trivial" with "trivia" (interesting small facts); "trivial" usually has a negative tone, while "trivia" can be positive or neutral.
Meaning
not important or serious
Collocations
trivial matter
|trivial issue
|trivial problem
|seem trivial
|sound trivial
|far from trivial
Synonyms
insignificant (More formal; often used in written or careful speech to stress low importance or low effect.)
|
minor (Focuses on small size or degree rather than lack of value; common in everyday speech.)
Antonyms
important (Directly opposite in terms of how much attention or care something deserves.)
|
serious (Opposes the idea of something being too small or light to worry about.)
Themes
communication
|evaluation
|work
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Not important or serious; not worth a lot of attention.
Of very little importance or value; too small or unimportant to be worth serious consideration.
B2
2
Usage pattern:
[something] is trivial to do
For an experienced programmer, this bug should be trivial to fix.
Egy tapasztalt programozónak ennek a hibának a kijavítása egyszerű feladat.
Once you know the formula, the calculation is trivial.
Ha már ismered a képletet, a számítás egyszerű.
It may sound trivial, but remembering names is not trivial for everyone.
The remaining steps are trivial and can be done later.
The change looks trivial, but it actually improves performance a lot.
Learner examples
For her, this math problem is trivial.
Számára ez a matekfeladat egyszerű.
The test was trivial for the best students.
A legjobb diákoknak pofonegyszerű volt a teszt.
Setting up the new phone is trivial if you follow the guide.
After practice, driving on this road feels trivial.
The questions were trivial, so he finished very fast.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes use only "easy" and do not learn "trivial" as a near-synonym that also carries a slight idea of being unimportant. Also, they may say "I am trivial to do it" instead of the correct form "It is trivial for me to do it" or "It is trivial to do."
Meaning
very easy, requiring little effort
Collocations
trivial task
|trivial exercise
|trivial example
|almost trivial
|computationally trivial
|technically trivial
Synonyms
simple (Very common and neutral; does not always carry the slightly dismissive tone that "trivial" can have.)
|
effortless (Stresses that almost no effort is needed, sometimes more strongly than "trivial".)
Antonyms
difficult (Opposite in terms of how much effort or skill is needed.)
|
complex (Opposes the idea of being easy to understand or solve.)
Themes
work
|education
|problem-solving
|core_vocabulary
Definition
So easy that it does not need much work or thinking.
Very easy to do or understand; requiring almost no effort, skill, or thought.
C1
TECHNICAL
3
triviális
C1
Usage pattern:
a trivial [case/example/solution]
The equation has the trivial solution x = 0.
Az egyenletnek van egy triviális megoldása: x = 0.
In the trivial case where n = 1, the statement is clearly true.
Abban a triviális esetben, amikor n = 1, az állítás nyilvánvalóan igaz.
We exclude the trivial example of the empty set from our discussion.
This bound is trivial and does not tell us anything new.
The trivial group contains only the identity element.
Learner examples
In this problem, x = 0 is a trivial solution.
Ebben a feladatban az x = 0 triviális megoldás.
We first check the trivial case when the number is zero.
Először ellenőrizzük azt a triviális esetet, amikor a szám nulla.
The teacher gave a trivial example just to show the idea.
In many proofs, the first step is to remove trivial cases.
The result is not trivial, so the proof is long.
Common mistake:
Learners may think "trivial" is always negative. In technical writing, it often neutrally classifies simple or obvious cases and contrasts them with "nontrivial" ones. Another mistake is to assume "trivial" in math means "useless"; it usually means "simple" or "obvious," not necessarily useless.
Meaning
obvious or mathematically simple
Collocations
trivial solution
|trivial case
|trivial example
|trivial group
|trivial bound
|trivial result
Synonyms
obvious (General word; in technical writing, often used similarly for results that follow directly without deep ideas.)
|
elementary (Technical style; emphasizes that something uses only basic methods or ideas.)
Antonyms
nontrivial (Standard technical opposite in mathematics and related areas, implying that something is not obvious and has interesting content.)
|
substantive (Emphasizes that a result or example has real depth or content.)
Themes
mathematics
|science
|technology
|education
Definition
Used in math and science for a solution or example that is very simple and not interesting or deep.
In mathematics, logic, or related fields, describing a case, example, or solution that is obvious, contains no interesting structure, or is the simplest possible instance.
C1
4
Usage pattern:
trivial [conversation/activity/entertainment]
He was tired of their trivial conversations about celebrities and gossip.
Elege volt a hírességekről és pletykákról szóló felszínes beszélgetéseikből.
The film is fun but ultimately trivial entertainment.
A film szórakoztató, de végső soron súlytalan szórakozás.
She writes songs about love, loss, and not just trivial things.
Critics dismissed the book as trivial and predictable.
They wanted to talk about serious issues, not trivial subjects.
Learner examples
They only had trivial talk at the party.
A partin csak felszínes csevegés folyt.
The show is funny but very trivial.
A műsor vicces, de nagyon felszínes.
I do not enjoy trivial movies with no real story.
He thinks pop songs are trivial and simple.
She prefers deep books, not trivial stories.
Common mistake:
Learners sometimes confuse this sense with simply "small" or "short." Here, "trivial" is about being ordinary or not deep, especially for talk, art, or entertainment, not about size or length.
Meaning
ordinary and not interesting
Collocations
trivial conversation
|trivial entertainment
|trivial details
|utterly trivial
|trivial concerns
|trivial things
Synonyms
banal (More formal and negative; strongly suggests something is boring and over-used.)
|
shallow (Focuses on lack of depth, especially in ideas, art, or conversation.)
Antonyms
profound (Opposite in terms of depth and seriousness of ideas or feelings.)
|
meaningful (Suggests something has emotional or intellectual value, unlike the light or empty feeling of "trivial" here.)
Themes
culture
|evaluation
|social-life
|daily_life
|core_vocabulary
Definition
Too ordinary and simple, so it is not interesting or deep.
Common, dull, or lacking depth or originality; concerned with uninteresting everyday things.
Grammar
Dictionary form
trivial
IPA
GB/tɹˈɪviəl/
US/tɹˈɪviəl/
Syllables & stress
trivi - al (2 syllables)
Stress on 1st syllable (trivi)
Word forms
Adjective
- Base: trivial
Word family
Core family
trivially
adverb
trivialize
verb
Related words
triviality
noun
trivia
noun
Negative and opposite forms
nontrivial
adjective
Advanced or less common
trivialization
noun
Expressions
a trivial matter
1/ə tɹˈɪviəl mˈætɚ/
fixed phrase
an unimportant issue or problem
An issue, problem, or question that is not important and does not need a lot of time or worry.
Examples
- Let’s not turn a trivial matter into a big argument.
- The manager told them to stop complaining about such a trivial matter.
- In the context of war and poverty, this is a trivial matter.
in a trivial sense
1/ˈɪn ə tɹˈɪviəl sˈɛns/
fixed phrase
technical
in an obvious or simple sense
Used in academic or technical writing to say that a statement is true in a very simple or uninteresting way.
Examples
- The claim is true in a trivial sense, but it fails to address the real problem.
- Every function is continuous in a trivial sense on a one-point space.
- The result is correct, but only in a trivial sense that offers no new insight.
no trivial task
1/nˈoʊ tɹˈɪviəl tˈæsk/
fixed phrase
a difficult or serious task
Used to say that something is not easy and may be serious or require a lot of work.
Examples
- Raising three children on your own is no trivial task.
- Designing a safe vaccine in a few months is no trivial task.
- Keeping the system online during the upgrade was no trivial task.