frivolous
/ˈfrɪvələs/ (bre, ipa) · /ˈfrɪvələs/ (ame, ipa) · /ˈfri-və-ləs/ (ame, mw)
frivolous — adjective
- frivolouspositive
- more frivolouscomparative
- most frivoloussuperlative
1. acting in a silly, light-hearted way and refusing to give attention to anything
acting in a silly, light-hearted way and refusing to give attention to anything important — for example, joking through a serious meeting or giggling during a memorial.
Lakshmi is brilliant at her job, but outside the office she becomes wonderfully frivolous.
attributive after 'becomes' describing a person's manner
Grandma scolded Hao for being frivolous during the funeral and laughing at the priest.
be + frivolous + during [serious event]
Ezra felt his cousins were too frivolous to be trusted with the wedding plans.
The interviewer dismissed Esteban as frivolous after he kept making jokes about the safety rules.
After three weeks of frivolous remarks at every meeting, the head nurse asked Zayd to focus.
用法筆記
Describes a person or their manner. Distinguish from sense 2 (which describes activities, objects, or expenses): a 'frivolous person' is silly; a 'frivolous purchase' is unnecessary, regardless of who made it.
常見錯誤
2. (of an activity, purchase, request, or object) trivial in nature so that spendin
(of an activity, purchase, request, or object) trivial in nature so that spending time or money on it is hard to justify, especially next to something more pressing.
Quan's parents called the new gaming chair a frivolous purchase while the boiler still needed repair.
frivolous + [purchase/expense noun]
Most committee members rejected the proposal as a frivolous use of the school's emergency funds.
rejected as a frivolous use of [resource]
Kwame insisted that buying fresh flowers each Friday was not a frivolous expense for the clinic waiting room.
The festival committee cut several frivolous events and kept only the parade and the fireworks.
Eli stopped reading the magazine because the articles felt frivolous compared with the news from home.
- trivial
neutral; lacks the spending-priority connotation of frivolous
- unnecessary
broader; covers expensive non-trivial items too
- superficial
focuses on lack of depth rather than lack of importance
- essential
directly contrastive in budgeting contexts
- worthwhile
the positive judgement equivalent
用法筆記
Subject is usually a thing or activity (purchase, request, hobby, article, event), not a person. The judgement is comparative — frivolous against a more pressing alternative — so the contrast is often spelled out by 'while', 'compared with', or context.
常見錯誤
3. (of a lawsuit, complaint, or appeal) lacking enough real evidence or legal merit
(of a lawsuit, complaint, or appeal) lacking enough real evidence or legal merit that a court has little reason to spend time on it.
The judge dismissed Élise's lawsuit as frivolous within ten minutes of opening arguments.
dismiss + as frivolous — the canonical legal pattern
Filing a frivolous complaint against a colleague can damage your own reputation at the firm.
frivolous + [legal-process noun]
The appeals court ruled that Christopher's challenge was frivolous and ordered him to pay costs.
Lawyers can be fined for repeatedly bringing frivolous claims to clog the system.
The insurance company branded Hyun's accident report frivolous, even though witnesses backed her story.
- groundless
shares the 'no real basis' meaning but lacks the legal-jargon flavour
- baseless
near-synonym; equally common in formal writing
- vexatious
stronger legal term — claim filed mainly to annoy or harass
- meritorious
the standard legal opposite — a claim with real legal grounds
- substantiated
focuses on evidence backing the claim
用法筆記
Formal, mostly legal. Subject is usually a lawsuit / complaint / appeal / claim / petition. Distinguish from sense 2: a frivolous lawsuit is not merely 'unimportant' — it has no real legal basis, and a judge can sanction the filer.