trifler

1 8.6

A person who treats serious matters as not important and often jokes about them

noun
/ˈtraɪflər/

Offensive

: frívolo

In a meeting discussing crucial issues, his responses only revealed him as a trifler who joked instead of contributing.

Examples

I'm a trifler, but actually I'm a very busy man.

Fiction book (1991)
To her religious set, Shayna was a bold, borderline trifler with the rules, but her own mind and conscience were clear.

Fiction book (1993)
She considered him a trifler because he never took their important conversations seriously.
Many view her as a trifler for focusing on trivial matters instead of addressing the serious challenges at hand.

Synonyms

trivialist

vstrifler

9.8

A person who treats big problems as unimportant and focuses on small details

acts without seriousness toward serious matters rather than just focusing on small details

fribble

vstrifler

Archaic

9.9

A silly person who does not act seriously

is someone who treats serious matters unseriously rather than merely being silly

How Serious

trifler

Offensive

1 8.6

jokester

7 4.4

Surface Forms

trifler singular

triflers plural

Morphology

trifler = trifle (transparent) = trifle + er

Productive agentive '-er' added to the verb 'trifle' yields 'trifler' meaning 'one who trifles', a direct and regular derivation.

Etymology

Trifler comes from the common word trifle, which means a small or unimportant thing. So a trifler is someone who treats matters as 'small' or 'not serious', often joking instead of taking important tasks seriously.