Advertisement

Advertisement

View synonyms for trivialize

trivialize

[ triv-ee-uh-lahyz ]

verb (used with object)

, triv·i·al·ized, triv·i·al·iz·ing.
  1. to make trivial; cause to appear unimportant, trifling, etc.


trivialize

/ ˈtrɪvɪəˌlaɪz /

verb

  1. tr to cause to seem trivial or more trivial; minimize

    he trivialized his injuries

“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


Discover More

Derived Forms

  • ˌtrivialiˈzation, noun
Discover More

Other Words From

  • trivi·al·i·zation noun
Discover More

Word History and Origins

Origin of trivialize1

First recorded in 1840–50; trivial + -ize
Discover More

Example Sentences

DR: We certainly do not want to give off the impression that we tolerate any bit of misinformation or harmful content or trivialize the impact it has, especially to those people that it does affect.

From Salon

They also believe such crises remind voters of what they dislike about Trump, whom they see as politicizing such moments and trivializing them by, for example, calling American soldiers’ brain injuries “headaches.”

"And I feel like for so long, PMS has been mocked and kind of trivialized, and people don't really take it seriously."

From BBC

She’s worried that these trending videos may trivialize the profession and those searching for pain relief.

He said those kinds of teaching methods are inappropriate, trivialize the experience of the victims, and are disproportionately traumatic for students of color.

Advertisement

Discover More

More About Trivialize

What does trivialize mean?

Trivialize means to cause something to appear unimportant or insignificant, as in Gabe tried to trivialize the D he got in math, but his parents still grounded him.

Trivialize is a verb form of the adjective trivial. It’s often used by the person being trivialized, rather than by the person doing the trivializing.

Example: Do not trivialize the effort that was put into my project.

Where does trivialize come from?

The first records of the term trivialize come from the mid-1800s. It combines the term trivial, meaning “commonplace” or “unimportant,” and the suffix ize, which creates verbs with a general meaning of “to render, make,” as in actualize and Americanize. Trivial originally comes from a combination of Latin words that mean “at the street corner.”

When something is important to someone, anything that tries to lessen that importance can seem like trivializing, but trivialization is actually very deliberate and takes effort to do. When someone trivializes your efforts, for example, they usually do so by lying about something or pointing out insignificant facts that tarnish the quality or nature of your effort.

Sometimes, though, people can trivialize something without realizing it. For example, many classic Hollywood Westerns trivialize the struggles of the Native Americans. We don’t realize until later than we’ve diminished something that was important to another person.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to trivialize

  • trivialization (noun)

What are some synonyms for trivialize?

What are some words that share a root or word element with trivialize

What are some words that often get used in discussing trivialize?

How is trivialize used in real life?

Trivialize is commonly used to describe something that is dismissed as a negative.

 

 

Try using trivialize!

True or False?

Laughing at someone else’s misfortune trivializes any pain they’re feeling.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement


trivialitytrivial name