make light of
To regard without due seriousness; to joke about.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“It is rude to make light of someone else's problems.”
“He tried to make light of the accident, but everyone else was clearly worried about the damage.”
“Although the situation was dire, the politician attempted to make light of the crisis to calm the nervous public.”
disputed origin
From Make light work of.
- 01
absence makes the heart grow fonder
One feels more love or affection for those one loves when parted from them.
- 02
amber light
Hesitance to proceed; limited approval or permission to proceed.
- 03
bright lights
The glamour and glitz of a place, especially a big city.
- 04
bring to light
To expose, disclose or reveal something that was hidden or unknown.
- 05
cannot make it
Cannot reach satisfactory or expected standards or do something competently; describes someone in a hopeless situation.
- 06
come to light
To become known; to be revealed.
- 07
doctors make the worst patients
It is difficult to advise people on subjects that they are experts on.
- 08
enough to make a cat laugh
Very outlandish or outrageous.
Last updated August 10, 2026