➡ See also the entry for slight另见slight条minor ♦︎ trivial ♦︎ petty ♦︎ insignificant ♦︎ peripheral ♦︎ light ♦︎ unimportantThese words all describe people or things that are not important or do not deserve serious attention.这些词均表示不重要的、次要的、无足轻重的。PATTERNS AND COLLOCATIONS 句型和搭配◆minor / trivial / petty / peripheral / unimportant things◆a minor / trivial / petty problem◆minor / trivial / insignificant / unimportant details◆a minor / a trivial / an insignificant matter / incident◆a minor / trivial / petty offence◆minor / petty crime / theft / criminals◆a minor / trivial ailment◆a trivial / an insignificant / an unimportant fact◆very minor / trivial / petty / insignificant / light / unimportant◆apparently / seemingly minor / trivial / insignificant / unimportant■minor [usually before noun] not very large, important or serious较小的;次要的;轻微的◆The new plan involves widening a minor road through the valley.新规划包括拓宽一条穿过山谷的小路。◆There may be some minor changes to the schedule.时间安排上也许会有些小变动。◆Women played a relatively minor role in the organization.妇女在这个组织中发挥着相对次要的作用。◆The CD contains a number of delightful short pieces by minor composers.这张光碟内有几首由不太出名的作曲家创作的欢快的短曲。◆Both the driver and the passenger suffered minor injuries.司机和乘客两人都受了轻伤。◆You may need to undergo minor surgery.你也许得做个小手术。OPPmajor ⇨ main, serious,severe ⇨ serious1■trivial ˈtrɪviəl (oftendisapproving) not important or serious; not worth worrying about不重要的;琐碎的;微不足道的◆I didn't want to bother you with such a trivial matter.我不想拿这样的琐事来烦你。◆I know it sounds trivial, but I'm worried about it.我知道这事听起来微不足道,但我还是放心不下。ⓘ Trivial is used especially to talk about an incident, a matter or a detail. People also often say that sth is too trivial to bother about/worry about/mention/make a fuss about. * trivial尤用以形容incident、matter和detail;常见的搭配还有be too trivial to bother about/worry about/mention/make a fuss about。▸triviality ˌtrɪviˈæləti
noun
[countable, uncountable] ◆ (disapproving) I don't want to waste time on trivialities.我不想把时间浪费在琐事上。◆His speech was one of great triviality.他的讲话无足轻重。■petty [usually before noun] (usuallydisapproving) small and not important; not deserving serious attention小的;琐碎的;无足轻重的◆I don't want to hear any more about your petty squabbles.我再也不想听到你们那些小口角了。◆There are plenty of petty bureaucrats(= who do not have much power or authority) who would report you for that.有很多小官僚会为那件事告发你。◆The removal of petty restrictions has made life easier.解除了各种琐碎的限制后,日子变得轻松了一些。ⓘ Petty is used especially to talk about crimes and conflicts that are not very serious. * petty尤用以形容不太严重的罪行和冲突◆petty crime / theft / corruption / tyranny轻微罪行;小偷小摸;轻微的腐败/专制◆a petty criminal / thief / tyrant轻罪犯;小窃贼;小暴君◆petty squabbles / jealousies / feuds小口角;小小的妒忌/不和■insignificant (ratherformal, especiallywritten) not big or valuable enough to be considered important微不足道的;无足轻重的◆These results are statistically insignificant.在统计学的意义上,这些结果无关紧要。◆The levels of chemicals in the river are not insignificant.河水中化学物质的含量不容忽视。◆He made her feel insignificant and stupid.他让她感到自己卑微愚蠢。ⓘ Not insignificant is a rather formal way of saying that sth is actually quite important, or more important than people might think. Insignificant can also be used to talk about a person who seems or feels as if they are not important or have no influence. * not insignificant是颇为正式的用法,表示某事实际上很重要,或者比人们想象的更为重要。insignificant亦可用来表示某人看起来或觉得自己似乎不重要或没有影响力。OPPsignificant ⇨ important▸insignificance
noun
[uncountable] ◆Her own problems paled into insignificance beside this terrible news.跟这个可怕的消息相比,她自己的问题就显得微不足道了。OPPsignificance ⇨ importance■peripheral pəˈrɪfərəl (formal, especially business尤用于商业) not as important as the main aim or part of an activity次要的;附带的◆The experiment looks at subjects' ability to take in peripheral information.这项实验要考查实验对象吸收辅助信息的能力。◆Fund-raising is peripheral to their main activities.与他们的主要活动相比,筹集资金是次要的。ⓘ Peripheral is used especially to talk about information or details, or activities and developments. * peripheral尤用以形容information、detail、activity和development。 see also periphery ⇨ edgenoun■lightentertaining rather than serious and not needing much mental effort娱乐性的;消遣性的;轻松的◆Do you need some light reading for the beach?你是否需要一些在海边休闲时看的消遣读物?◆a concert of light classical music古典轻音乐会ⓘ Light is used especially to talk about leisure activities. * light尤用以形容休闲活动◆light reading / fiction / entertainment / comedy / music / opera消遣读物;轻松的小说/娱乐;轻喜剧;轻音乐;轻歌剧■unimportant (especiallywritten) not important; not deserving serious attention不重要的;次要的;无足轻重的◆Don't worry about these unimportant details.别为这些细枝末节烦恼。◆They dismissed the problem as unimportant.他们认为这个问题无关紧要而未予理会。OPPimportant ⇨ important