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

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

"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

"It's obviously in bad taste, but if Linden wants to make light of the situation, that's down to her."

From BBC

Now strangers see them together and they think he’s her father, and that embarrasses them, though they smile and try to make light of it.

From Literature

Before the Commission's announcement, Elon Musk posted a picture on X on Monday appearing to make light of the new restrictions in place around Grok.

From BBC

Related Words

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