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Glite Dictionary
to trifle away

to trifle away

8.2
To waste time, money, or chances on things that do not matter
  • phrasal verb
translation icon : perder el tiempo
  • If you continue to trifle away your money on unnecessary things, you will regret it later.

Examples

  • It's easy to trifle away time while scrolling through social media instead of studying.

  • SO CARELESS OF ALL GOVERNMENT, AND YOUR MINISTERS WAITING LIKE BEGGARS AT THE DOOR WHILE YOU TRIFLE AWAY THE TIME.

    The Prince and the Pauper (1977)

  • He decided to stop trifling away his weekends and start working on his personal projects.

Synonyms

to waste time
vsto trifle away
728 1.6

To spend time doing things that are not useful instead of doing something more useful

adds a sense of carelessness and loss rather than neutral unproductivity
to blow
vsto trifle away
  • Informal
265 5.3

To waste a lot of money on things you do not need

covers careless wasting too but often in smaller, unimportant contexts
to squander
vsto trifle away
67 6.5

To use money, time, or chances in a foolish way

is milder, focusing on careless unimportant loss rather than reckless large loss
to piss away
vsto trifle away
  • Offensive
8 9.5

To waste time or money by being careless

is similar but slightly more neutral and less coarse in tone
to fritter away
vsto trifle away
4 6.0

Waste time or money on small unimportant things

emphasizes careless, unimportant loss rather than planned or large loss
to throw money away
vsto trifle away
4 3.5

Spend money on things you do not need

is broader, covering careless wasting of time, money, or chances
to fritter
vsto trifle away
4 6.8

To waste small amounts of time, money, or energy little by little

is about careless wasting of time or chance in unimportant ways
to faff
vsto trifle away
  • UK
1 9.9

To spend time on small, unimportant tasks instead of getting things done

is about careless wasting of resources rather than merely delaying tasks
to misspend
vsto trifle away
1 6.5

To spend time or money in a wasteful way

is more about careless, trivial wasting rather than general foolish spending
pissing in the wind
vsto trifle away
  • Offensive
1 9.9

Spending time or effort on something that will not work

is about careless wasting of value rather than futile or hopeless effort
to trifle
vsto trifle away
7.1

To spend time idly on unimportant things

focuses on careless loss of value rather than mere idleness
to piddle away
vsto trifle away
  • Informal
8.6

Spend time or money on unimportant things

stresses careless loss of opportunities or money rather than just idleness
to fool away
vsto trifle away
8.1

To waste time, money, or chances by being careless

leans more toward trivial, unimportant wasting rather than outright folly
to footle away
vsto trifle away
  • UK
9.6

To waste time doing small, unimportant things

is similar but highlights careless loss of value over mere triviality
to waste one's time
vsto trifle away
3.3

To spend time on things that are not useful

focuses more on careless wasting of opportunities or money than just idleness

Antonyms

to invest
715 3.5

To put money, time, or effort into something hoping for a future benefit

to utilize
  • Formal
224 4.9

To use something for a particular purpose

How Wasteful

to waste
∞ 1.0
to trifle away
8.2
to spend
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

trifle away infinitive
trifled away past
trifled away past participle
trifling away present participle
trifles away third person singular

Morphology

trifle + away

The verb 'trifle' already conveys treating something as unimportant or frittering it away, and the particle 'away' adds a resultative/dispersal sense, so the overall meaning 'to waste (time, money, etc.)' is compositionally related to the parts. However, 'trifle' is relatively low-frequency and somewhat formal, and the exact nuance may not be fully predictable to an average B1 learner without prior exposure, so the expression is only partially transparent.

Etymology

Trifle away comes from the word trifle, which means a small, unimportant thing. Picture someone dropping little coins or moments because they seem tiny and not worth keeping; to trifle away is to treat time, money, or chances as small and so 'waste' them.