Trifle vs Shallow - What's the difference?

As nouns the difference between trifle and shallow

is that trifle is an english dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream while shallow is a shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.

As verbs the difference between trifle and shallow

is that trifle is to deal with something as if it were of little importance or worth while shallow is to make or become less deep.

As an adjective shallow is

having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.

trifle

English

Noun

An English dessert made from a mixture of thick custard, fruit, sponge cake, jelly and whipped cream.

An insignificant amount.

* {{quote-book, year=1928, author=Lawrence R. Bourne

, title=Well Tackled! , chapter=17 citation , passage=Commander Birch was a trifle uneasy when he found there was more than a popple on the sea; it was, in fact, distinctly choppy. Strictly speaking, he ought to have been following up the picket–boat, but he was satisfied that the circumstances were sufficiently urgent for him to take risks.}}

Anything that is of little importance or worth.

* Shakespeare

Trifles light as air / Are to the jealous confirmation strong / As proofs of holy writ.

* Drayton

with such poor trifles playing

A particular kind of pewter.

(uncountable) Utensils made from this particular kind of pewter.

Synonyms

See also: . * (insignificant amount) iota, jot, scrap, whit * (thing of little importance or worth) bagatelle, minor detail, whiffle

Derived terms

* a trifle

Verb

(trifl)

To deal with something as if it were of little importance or worth.

To act, speak, or otherwise behave with jest.

To inconsequentially toy with something.

To squander or waste.

Anagrams

* * ----

shallow

English

Adjective

(er)

Having little depth; significantly less deep than wide.

This crater is relatively shallow .

Saute the onions in a shallow pan.

Extending not far downward.

The water is shallow here.

Concerned mainly with superficial matters.

It was a glamorous but shallow lifestyle.

Lacking interest or substance.

The acting is good, but the characters are shallow .

Not intellectually deep; not penetrating deeply; simple; not wise or knowing.

shallow learning

* Francis Bacon

The king was neither so shallow , nor so ill advertised, as not to perceive the intention of the French king.

(obsolete) Not deep in tone.

* Francis Bacon

the sound perfecter and not so shallow and jarring

(tennis) Not far forward, close to the net

* {{quote-news

, year=2012 , date=June 28 , author=Jamie Jackson , title=Wimbledon 2012: Lukas Rosol shocked by miracle win over Rafael Nadal , work=the Guardian citation , page= , passage=Rosol spurned the chance to finish off a shallow second serve by spooning into the net, and a wild forehand took the set to 5-4, with the native of Prerov required to hold his serve for victory.}}

Antonyms

* deep

Noun

(en noun)

A shallow portion of an otherwise deep body of water.

The ship ran aground in an unexpected shallow .

* Francis Bacon

A swift stream is not heard in the channel, but upon shallows of gravel.

* Dryden

dashed on the shallows of the moving sand

A fish, the rudd.

Usage notes

* Usually used in the plural form.

Verb

(en verb)

To make or become less deep

* {{quote-journal, 2009, date=February 6, Andrew Z. Krug et al., Signature of the End-Cretaceous Mass Extinction in the Modern Biota, Science citation

, passage=The shallowing of Cenozoic age-frequency curves from tropics to poles thus appears to reflect the decreasing probability for genera to reach and remain established in progressively higher latitudes ( 9 ). }}