make light of

to treat something as if it were unimportant or humorous. I wish you wouldn't make light of his problems. They're quite serious. I make light of my problems, and that makes me feel better.

to act as if something is not serious or important I tried to make light of his fear, but the look on his face made that impossible.

to talk or behave as if something is not serious or important I don't mean to make light of the fact that this was a horrible crime.

to suggest by the way that you talk or behave that you do not think a problem is serious You shouldn't make light of other people's fears.

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.

To treat as unimportant: He made light of his illness.