Meaning of frivolous in English

Table of contents
  1. Pronunciation
  2. Qualitative Adjective
    1. Etymology
    2. Definitions

  1. Pronunciation

    /ˈfrɪvələs/

    US accent Play button

    UK accent Play button

  1. Qualitative Adjective

    frivolous

    Etymology

    late Middle English: from Latin frivolus‘silly, trifling’+ -ous

    Definitions

    1. not serious in content or attitude or behavior

    Examples

    • « a frivolous novel »
    • « a frivolous remark »
    • « a frivolous young woman »

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

Famous quotes

  • « Travel is the frivolous part of serious lives, and the serious part of frivolous ones. »
    Sophie Swetchine
  • « Our health care system is the finest in the world, but we still have too many uninsured Americans, too high prices for prescription drugs, and too many frivolous lawsuits driving our physicians out of state or out of business. »
    Judy Biggert
  • « Frivolous lawsuits are booming in this county. The U.S. has more costs of litigation per person than any other industrialized nation in the world, and it is crippling our economy. »
    Jack Kingston
  • « My dad was an engineer and so I had this picture of science and technology and pursuits of the mind as being more impressive than artistic pursuits, which I saw a as kind of frivolous. »
    Scott McCloud
  • « Thus so wretched is man that he would weary even without any cause for weariness... and so frivolous is he that, though full of a thousand reasons for weariness, the least thing, such as playing billiards or hitting a ball, is sufficient enough to amuse him. »
    Blaise Pascal

See also

Browse dictionary