to laugh at
456
2.0
- phrasal verb
- /læf æt/
- Offensive
:
burlarse de
- It's not nice to laugh at someone when they make a mistake.
- laugh at people
- laugh at others
I think, like know that they laugh at the stuff I write.
- I think, like know that they laugh at the stuff I write.
- I feel like you guys are going to laugh at this focus.
- Like I, I laugh at your lack of skill.
- He raises hell, He laughs at the sound of babies crying.
- You know, that's, that's I'm laughing at the ridiculousness of this.
- But they are so smug when they are laughing at people suffering.
- He sits down and taunts and laughs at the animals till they die for hours.
- You've made this thing that shouldn't be laughed at laughable at.
Examples
-
And they walk away laughing at them, not with them.
-
If they had that in place, they would laugh at them and move on.
Academic text (1999) -
I think, like know that they laugh at the stuff I write.
-
I feel like you guys are going to laugh at this focus.
-
But you know, maybe people laugh at me and not with me.
-
We are laughing at you.
-
Would you date someone who laughs at everything or nothing?
-
And they sat here laughing at me until they started crying.
-
Without their capacity to laugh at themselves, they would not have progressed so rapidly.
Academic text (1997) -
- You gotta learn to laugh at yourself if you're gonna survive.
Synonyms
307
2.3
Laugh at someone or say things that make them feel embarrassed
108
4.6
To make someone look silly in a mean way so others laugh at them
93
5.8
To mock someone again and again to make them angry or upset
80
2.9
Say something funny, often unkind, about someone or something
57
6.5
To say or do things to show you do not respect someone
33
5.5
To make fun of someone in a joking way, often in public
26
7.8
To make fun of someone in a cruel way
25
3.9
To make jokes about someone to make them look silly
23
3.4
To make jokes about someone, sometimes to be playful and sometimes to be unkind
21
6.7
To treat something as silly and show no respect
14
6.2
To laugh at someone and shout rude words to show you do not respect them
4
8.1
To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas
2
3.8
To tease someone in a friendly, joking way
2
7.5
To laugh at someone and say unkind things about them
1
8.5
To make cruel or mocking remarks about someone
To make fun of someone in a mean way to show you dislike them
Laugh at someone or treat something serious as a joke
Tease someone by making jokes about them
Feel secretly pleased and make fun of someone without showing it
To secretly find someone else's mistake funny without showing it
Antonyms
How Mocking
26
7.8
- Offensive
209
3.4
- Offensive
456
2.0
- Offensive
307
2.3
17
4.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
laugh + at
The meaning is directly derived from combining 'laugh' (produce amusement) with the preposition 'at' (indicating a target): learners can infer it means directing laughter toward someone or something. Although nuance (mocking vs laughing with) can vary by context, the basic idea of targeted laughter is transparent and likely recoverable by a B1 learner who knows the constituents.
Etymology
Laugh at comes from the simple image of people pointing and directing a laugh at someone to show dislike or scorn. That's why laugh at now means 'to make fun of' or 'to ridicule' someone.