frivol
/'frivəl/
Definition
- Verb:
- To act frivolously: To behave in a way that is not serious, sensible, or important; to spend time or resources on trivial or silly matters.
Usage
- The verb "frivol" is used to describe the act of engaging in trivial, unserious, or purposeless activity. It often implies a waste of time, effort, or money on things of little value or importance. It can be used both transitively (with a direct object like time or money) and intransitively (without a direct object).
Examples
- Transitive use (with an object):
- He tends to frivol away his afternoons on social media. (He wastes his afternoons on social media.)
- She frivolled a small fortune on unnecessary gadgets. (She wasted a small fortune on unnecessary gadgets.)
- Intransitive use (without an object):
- Stop frivolling and focus on your work! (Stop messing around and focus on your work!)
- They spent the day frivolling by the pool. (They spent the day engaging in idle amusement by the pool.)
Advanced Usage
- "to frivol away": This is the most common phrasal construction. It emphasizes the wasteful aspect of the action, specifically the squandering of a resource (time, money, opportunity).
- He has frivolled away his entire inheritance. (He has wasted his entire inheritance on trivial things.)
Variants and Related Words
- Frivolous (adj): Not having any serious purpose or value; carefree and not serious.
- She was accused of making frivolous comments during the meeting.
- Frivolity (n): Lack of seriousness; lightheartedness; a frivolous act or thing.
- The festival was a moment of pure frivolity.
Synonyms
- Trifle: To treat something as unimportant.
- Dally: To act or move slowly; to waste time.
- Fritter away: To waste money, time, or energy on small, unimportant things.
Related Phrasal Verbs
- Frivol away: To waste or squander (time, money) on trivial pursuits.
- It's easy to frivol away a weekend if you have no plans.
Related Idioms
- None that feature the verb "frivol" directly. However, the concept is related to idioms about wasting time or resources, such as "fiddle while Rome burns" (to concern oneself with trivial matters during a crisis) or "piss away" (vulgar; to waste recklessly).
Verb
-
act frivolously
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