What does trifler mean?
Trifler is a formal noun for a person who treats serious matters lightly, wastes time on trivial concerns, or refuses to give a difficult issue the attention it deserves. Its dominant implication is not simply that someone is unimportant, but that they display a careless or frivolous attitude toward responsibility. In less common use, a trifler can also mean a thing considered insignificant or negligible. The word has a somewhat old-fashioned, censorious tone and is usually reserved for a deliberate criticism rather than casual description. In historical or literary contexts, it may suggest a socialite, idler, or superficial figure who avoids serious engagement. Calling a person a trifler therefore carries more force than calling them a fool or a nonentity: the central accusation is not stupidity but a failure of seriousness. The related verb “trifle” is now more commonly used in the expression “trifle with,” meaning to treat something important carelessly.
nounA trifler is a person who treats serious matters lightly or wastes time on things of little importance. Less commonly, the word can denote a thing of negligible importance.
- A person who treats serious matters lightly, frivolously, or without proper concern.
- Something regarded as having little importance or value.
"The committee dismissed him as a trifler rather than a man capable of facing a crisis."
"The committee dismissed him as a trifler rather than a man capable of facing a crisis."
"No one wanted to be cast as the office trifler who postponed every difficult decision."
The regular plural refers to multiple people regarded as triflers.
"The novel portrays several ambitious but idle triflers in the political circles of the era."
To call someone a trifler is not to say they are incapable, but that they treat what matters as though it were unimportant.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trifler come from?
Trifler was formed in English from trifling, in the sense of treating something lightly, together with the suffix -er, meaning one who does a particular thing. Trifling in turn comes from trifle, a Middle English word borrowed through French. The related forms trifle, trifling, trifled, and trifles preserve this inherited root.
How trifler is actually used
The word is formal and mildly dismissive. It can suggest frivolity, frivolity, or unwillingness to take responsibility, rather than merely a lack of importance or ability.
Easily confused with trifler
A trifler is a person who treats matters lightly, whereas a trifle is an insignificant matter or a small amount of something.