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

See Examples For:

make light of

Ms. Sy-Quia does not make light of the church even as her story crashes against the limits of its reforms.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026

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 ● Feb. 26, 2026

"The relevant enterprises must accordingly take social responsibility and not make light of the heavy weight of history in the name of entertainment."

From BBC ● Jan. 31, 2026

That’s not to make light of the interactive experience — which is among the most fun and inspiring activities for children at a local cultural institution — just to note that it’s a fun perk.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026

I don’t mean to make light of this; it’s much too tragic for that.

From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank

Related Words

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