Skip to the word

Added 9 October 2026

frivolous

/ˈfɹɪv.ə.ləs/ adjective

In Latin: frīvolus Wiktionary

adjective Definition from WordNet 3.1, Princeton University. Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about frivolous at Wordnik → Where our words come from →

Not serious in content or attitude or behavior.
a frivolous novel

Origin

From Latin frīvolus (“silly, empty, trifling, frivolous, worthless”), with the ending modified to match -ous.

From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)

Back to today's word