bagatelle
- noun
- /ˌbæɡəˈtɛl/
- Literature
- The fact that both Alexander and Cromarty were far more nobly born than he seemed beside the point to him, a mere bagatelle, something to be resented, perhaps, but not something a Baron of High Ridge need concern himself with.
- a mere bagatelle
Examples
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Just a mere bagatelle.
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Hell, $20 isn't a mere bagatelle to me.
Blog text (20) -
And just ring the bell on the big bagatelle...
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But what is that to you, milord, a mere bagatelle.
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The obvious point is that he made it to Rome at the age of 60, and therefore he was up to the sea journey, a mere bagatelle in comparison.
Blog text (20) -
They'd purchased a little house in the eighth arrondissement in Paris that, for them, was just a bagatelle, since they rarely lived there.
Fiction book (1996) -
Well, it's utter nonsense, of course, naturally, the bagatelle of a man with more money than sense, but... I haven't actually found anything to say that it couldn't work.
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The missing documents were just a bagatelle in the grand scheme of things.
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For most people, that argument seemed like a bagatelle and not worth their time.
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He dismissed the complaint as a bagatelle, believing it to be unimportant.
Synonyms
Something that has no value or use
A small unimportant thing not worth any attention
Unimportant words in writing or speech
Useless or unimportant things that distract from what matters
A small detail that does not matter
Small decorative things that are fancy and not useful
A thing that is not important or worth worrying about
A small thing that is not important
A small unimportant thing you do not need
Small decorative things that have little value
How Important
Surface Forms
Etymology
Bagatelle comes from the Italian word bagatella, meaning 'little thing' or 'trifle', so a bagatelle is something unimportant or of little value. A helpful way to remember it is to think of a problem so small you call it a 'trifle'.