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make light of
| Main Entry: | |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | minimize |
| Synonyms: | attach little importance to, deemphasize, devalue, give little weight to, lessen, make light of, play down, soften, think nothing of, whitewash |
| Main Entry: | neglect |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | be indifferent, leave alone |
| Synonyms: | affront, brush aside, brush off, condemn, depreciate, despise, detest, discount, disdain, dismiss, disregard, have nothing to do with, ignore, keep at arm's length, keep one's distance, laugh off, let go, live with, make light of, not care for, overlook, pass by, pass over, pass up, pay no attention to, pay no mind, pretermit, rebuff, reject, scant, scorn, shrug off, slight, slur, spurn, tune out, underestimate |
| Antonyms: | cherish, concern, guard, nurture, protect, take care of, watch |
| Main Entry: | overlook |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | disregard, neglect |
| Synonyms: | discount, disdain, fail to notice, forget, ignore, leave out, leave undone, let fall between the cracks, let go, let slide, make light of, miss, omit, overpass, pass, pass by, pay no attention, slight, slip up |
| Notes: | overlook (verb) means to look past or fail to notice, while oversee (verb) means to watch and direct |
| Antonyms: | attend, heed, honor, look at, notice, regard, respect |
| Main Entry: | palliate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | gloss over; cover up |
| Synonyms: | abate, allay, alleviate, apologize for, assuage, camouflage, cloak, conceal, condone, cover, diminish, disguise, dissemble, ease, exculpate, excuse, extenuate, gloze, hide, hush up, justify, lessen, lighten, make light of, mask, minimize, mitigate, moderate, mollify, prettify, put on a Band-Aid, qualify, quick fix, relieve, screen, soften, soothe, sugarcoat, temper, varnish, veil, veneer, vindicate, white, whiten, whitewash |
| Antonyms: | accuse, blame, condemn |
| Main Entry: | play down |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | pretend as if something were unimportant |
| Synonyms: | belittle, deemphasize, gloss over, hold back*, make light of, make little of, minimize, mute, restrain, soft-pedal, soften, underplay, underrate |
| Antonyms: | blow up, build up, explode, play up |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | pooh-pooh |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | dismiss |
| Synonyms: | belittle, brush aside, discount, disregard, make light of, play down, rebuff, reject, repudiate, scoff at, sneer at, treat with contempt, wave aside |
| Main Entry: | scoff |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make fun of; despise |
| Synonyms: | belittle, boo, contemn, deride, dig at, disbelieve, discount, discredit, disdain, flout, gibe, jeer, knock*, laugh at, make light of, mock, pan, poke fun at, pooh-pooh, rag, rally, reject, revile, ride, ridicule, scorn, show contempt, sneer, tease |
| Antonyms: | be nice, praise |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | slight |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | offend, insult |
| Synonyms: | affront, blink at, brush off, chill, contemn, cool*, cut*, despise, discount, disdain, disparage, disregard, fail, flout, forget, give the brush, give the cold shoulder to, ignore, make light of, neglect, not give time of day, omit, overlook, pooh-pooh, reject, scoff, scorn, show disrespect, shrug off, skip, slur, sneeze at, snub, treat with contempt, turn deaf ear to, upstage |
| Antonyms: | compliment, flatter, praise |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | underestimate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | minimize; rate too low |
| Synonyms: | belittle, deprecate, depreciate, disesteem, disparage, make light of, miscalculate, miscarry, not do justice, put down*, sell short, slight, think too little of, underrate, undervalue |
| Antonyms: | exaggerate, maximize, overestimate |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2013 Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
