make light of

Idioms  

1. Also, make little of. Treat as unimportant, as in He made light of his allergies, or She made little of the fact that she'd won. The first term, which uses light in the sense of “trivial,” was first recorded in William Tyndale's 1526 Bible translation (Matthew 22:5), in the parable of the wedding feast, where the invited guests reject the king's invitation: “They made light of it and went their ways.” The variant dates from the early 1800s. For an antonym, see make much of.

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Example Sentences

"There is a clear distinction between ordinary use of the appalling gesture, compared with me imitating a Welsh footballer's use of it, or indeed Basil Fawlty's walk," he said, adding he would "never make light" of the Nazi regime.

From BBC

He said the Nazi regime was "the most barbaric ever, and I'd never make light of nor dilute its seriousness".

From BBC

Tudor said he frequently works with Dixon, who is also the brother-in-law of ex-Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, and gave him another hug before their 3-2 win over Atletico Madrid in midweek to make light of it.

From BBC

Kaufman stressed: "The defence does not disrespect the soul of any deceased person, nor does it make light of the loss of life."

From Barron's

Not to make light of any teen’s emotional injury, but will dating sites now be held liable for broken hearts?

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• curtail
• decrease
• diminish
• downplay
• lessen
• play down
• reduce
• trivialize
• underestimate