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Glite Dictionary
to make game of

to make game of

8.0
Laugh at someone or treat something serious as a joke
  • phrasal verb
  • Offensive
translation icon : burlarse de
  • It's not kind to make game of your classmates if they make a mistake.

Examples

  • She was hurt when they made game of her accent during the meeting.

  • Reporters should never make game of people dealing with tragedies.

  • Don't make game of her mistakes!

  • He always makes game of my ideas.

  • It's not kind to make game of your classmates if they make a mistake.

  • Reporters should never make game of people dealing with tragedies.

  • She was hurt when they made game of her accent during the meeting.

Synonyms

to kid
vsto make game of
  • Informal
∞ 3.5

To tease someone in a friendly, playful way

can be more mocking or used to treat serious things frivolously
to laugh at
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
456 2.0

To make fun of someone in a mean way to show they are silly

also may downplay seriousness rather than only express scorn
to make fun of
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
307 2.3

Laugh at someone or say things that make them feel embarrassed

is similar but can also treat serious matters in a frivolous way
to tease
vsto make game of
245 1.9

To make fun of someone in a way that annoys them

can mock like this but also can make light of serious matters
to ridicule
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
108 4.6

To make someone look silly in a mean way so others laugh at them

can be mocking but also include treating serious things lightly rather than contempt
to taunt
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
93 5.8

To mock someone again and again to make them angry or upset

can mock but does not always aim to provoke repeatedly
to joke about
vsto make game of
80 2.9

Say something funny, often unkind, about someone or something

can be similar but also purposely treats important things frivolously
to roast
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
33 5.5

To make fun of someone in a joking way, often in public

can mock publicly but also include trivializing serious matters beyond humor
to poke fun
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
25 3.9

To make jokes about someone to make them look silly

can match this but also extend to treating serious topics lightly
to poke fun at
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
23 3.4

To make jokes about someone, sometimes to be playful and sometimes to be unkind

can do the same but also dismiss important topics as frivolous
to make a mockery of
vsto make game of
21 6.7

To treat something as silly and show no respect

includes that disrespect but also covers lighter mocking of people
to lampoon
vsto make game of
8 7.7

To publicly make fun of a person or group by copying their style

may mock too but is often less formal and can be frivolous
to rally
vsto make game of
  • UK
5 5.2

To tease someone repeatedly in a friendly way

can match this but also includes treating serious topics in a frivolous manner
to take potshots at
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
4 8.1

To make quick, unfair critical remarks about someone or their ideas

may be similar but also includes light or frivolous treatment of issues
to laugh off
vsto make game of
  • Informal
3 4.2

Treat a problem or criticism as not important by joking about it

is often more about mockery or treating serious matters frivolously rather than coping
to make a monkey out of
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
3 8.4

Make someone look silly in front of other people by tricking or embarrassing them

may mock without tricking, and can also treat serious matters lightly
to make sport of
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
2 7.5

To laugh at someone and say unkind things about them

can be playful or treat things lightly rather than cruelly
to take the mickey
vsto make game of
  • Slang
1 9.1

To tease someone by making jokes about them in a friendly way

can be similar but also includes more dismissive or frivolous treatment
to jape
vsto make game of
  • Archaic
1 8.7

To make a playful joke or trick someone to make them laugh

may mock similarly but is not limited to tricks or pranks
to make shit of
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
9.9

Say someone's work or ideas are not important and make them feel small

can mock similarly but is not necessarily vulgar or crude
to take the pee out of
vsto make game of
  • Offensive
9.9

Tease someone by making jokes about them

can be similar but may also imply treating serious things frivolously
to take the pee
vsto make game of
  • Slang
9.9

To tease someone by joking about them in a friendly way

can include light joking but also covers ridicule of serious matters
to guy
vsto make game of
  • Informal
7.0

To make fun of someone in a playful way

can be similar but also covers mocking that undercuts serious subjects
to do a little trolling
vsto make game of
  • Slang
8.7

To annoy people online a little on purpose to make them react for fun

can include deliberate provoking but also covers mocking serious things offline

Antonyms

to respect
∞ 1.0

To admire someone for their actions or qualities

to take seriously
608 3.1

Think something is important and pay attention to it

How Mocking

to ridicule
  • Offensive
108 4.6
to make game of
  • Offensive
8.0
to tease
245 1.9

Surface Forms

make game of infinitive
made game of past
made game of past participle
making game of present participle
makes game of third person singular

Morphology

make + game + of

The literal parts — 'make' (create/turn into) + 'game' (a trivial activity) + 'of' (target marker) — suggest 'turn into a game / treat lightly', so a learner could infer a sense of not taking something seriously. However, the specific pragmatic meaning 'to mock or ridicule' requires an extra inferential leap and the construction behaves somewhat idiomatically in English, so it is not fully predictable from the words alone.

Etymology

Make game of may come from treating someone as game, meaning something for sport, so people 'make' a play or joke of them. That's why it now means 'to mock' or 'not take seriously'.