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Glite Dictionary
to make fun of

to make fun of

307 2.3
Laugh at someone or say things that make them feel embarrassed
  • phrasal verb
  • /meɪk fʌn ʌv/
  • Offensive
translation icon : burlarse de
  • It's not nice to make fun of someone for their mistakes.
  • make fun of others
  • make fun of people
  • make fun of kids

Maybe because kids made fun of us when we were in school.

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Examples

Synonyms

to laugh at
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
456 2.0

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

may be lighter or playful rather than openly scornful
to tease
vsto make fun of
245 1.9

To make fun of someone in a way that annoys them

often involves insulting or embarrassing rather than light annoyance
to mock
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
209 3.4

Make fun of someone by copying them to show dislike

is often lighter and may aim to tease rather than show strong contempt
to ridicule
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
108 4.6

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

is often less contemptuous and can be playful or teasing instead
to taunt
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
93 5.8

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

can be humorous or simply embarrassing rather than meant to provoke
to joke about
vsto make fun of
80 2.9

Say something funny, often unkind, about someone or something

can be meaner and cause embarrassment rather than being merely joking
to scoff
vsto make fun of
57 6.5

To say or do things to show you do not respect someone

can be teasing or embarrassing rather than purely scornful
to roast
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
33 5.5

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

is often unkind or embarrassing rather than intentionally good-natured fun
to deride
vsto make fun of
26 7.8

To make fun of someone in a cruel way

is often used for teasing that can be funny, not always contempt
to poke fun
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
25 3.9

To make jokes about someone to make them look silly

is often harsher and more embarrassing than gentle humour
to poke fun at
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
23 3.4

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

often causes embarrassment or unkind feelings rather than just light jokes
to jeer
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
14 6.2

To laugh at someone and shout rude words to show you do not respect them

is often private or joking rather than loud public abuse
to take potshots at
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
4 8.1

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

is broader and can be playful rather than mainly unfair criticism
to make a monkey out of
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
3 8.4

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

is broader and focuses on teasing rather than deliberate tricking
to rib
vsto make fun of
  • Informal
2 3.8

To tease someone in a friendly, joking way

can instead be unkind or embarrassing rather than kindly joking
to make sport of
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
2 7.5

To laugh at someone and say unkind things about them

focuses more on causing embarrassment or unkindness
to take the mickey
vsto make fun of
  • Slang
1 9.1

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

can be unkind or embarrassing rather than purely light playful teasing
to jape
vsto make fun of
  • Archaic
1 8.7

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

is more about teasing or embarrassing rather than playful tricking
to make game of
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
8.0

Laugh at someone or treat something serious as a joke

focuses on personal teasing and embarrassment, not trivializing issues
to take the pee out of
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
9.9

Tease someone by making jokes about them

is more general and can also be clearly unkind or embarrassing
to take the pee
vsto make fun of
  • Slang
9.9

To tease someone by joking about them in a friendly way

often implies a harsher or more embarrassing kind of teasing
to guy
vsto make fun of
  • Informal
7.0

To make fun of someone in a playful way

can be more hurtful or embarrassing than simple playful teasing
to make shit of
vsto make fun of
  • Offensive
9.9

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

typically targets people with teasing or embarrassing behaviour, not just belittling things

Antonyms

to support
∞ 1.0

Give help to a person or idea

praise
161 1.0

Words or actions that show admiration for someone

How Mocking

to ridicule
  • Offensive
108 4.6
to make fun of
  • Offensive
307 2.3
to tease
245 1.9
to poke fun at
  • Offensive
23 3.4

Surface Forms

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

Morphology

make + fun + of

The components 'make' + 'fun' + 'of' give a partial clue—literally 'to create fun about someone'—so a learner could infer a sense of doing something amusing regarding a person, but the specific meaning 'to tease or mock' (and the shift of 'fun' to 'mockery') is not fully predictable from the parts alone. Cross-linguistic expressions for teasing vary and the construction requires prior exposure to settle the idiomatic use, so it is only partially transparent to a B1 learner.

Etymology

Make fun of comes from make + fun: the image is of turning someone into the 'fun' — a joke people laugh at. That's why it means 'to tease' or 'mock' someone.