laugh off

verb

1. (tr, adverb) to treat or dismiss lightly, esp with stoicism

   he laughed off his injuries

Idioms and Phrases

Also, laugh away. Dismiss as ridiculous or trivial, as in He laughed off the suggestion that his career was over. [Early 1700s]

Example Sentences

That kind of chat from an underdog is usually laughed off in Scotland.

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French driver Isack Hadjar remained coy on Thursday when he sought to laugh off rumours he is set to join Red Bull next year, instead confirming he knows he will be remaining in Formula One.

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Speaking to a summit in the Black Sea resort city of Sochi on Thursday, Russian President Vladimir Putin laughed off suggestions he ordered drones to Denmark.

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Inflammatory rhetoric, and even the incitement and praise of violence, is simply laughed off under the auspices of humor and pushed aside by a brief or private apology.

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Akimoto laughed off the suggestion, but expressed frustration about technology's ability to mine data and find the "maximum common denominator".

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Related Words

• discount 
• disregard 
• ignore 
• overlook 
• reject 
• spurn 
• underestimate