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Glite Dictionary
to take lightly

to take lightly

22 4.2
To treat something as not important or serious
  • phrasal verb
  • /teɪk ˈlaɪtli/
translation icon : tomar a la ligera
  • Therefore, what we say or assume about these things is not to be taken lightly.

So, yeah, they're not they're not to be taken lightly.

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Examples

Synonyms

to downplay
vsto take lightly
59 5.3

Show something as less important or serious than it is

is broader, simply underestimating significance rather than framing it
to trivialize
vsto take lightly
  • US
28 7.0

Make something seem less important or serious

focuses more generally on underestimating importance rather than diminishing value
to shrug off
vsto take lightly
27 3.9

Treat something as unimportant and ignore it

is the simple act of underrating importance without the emotional resilience element
to play down
vsto take lightly
16 4.3

To make something seem less important than it really is

is the general act of underestimating its true importance
to brush aside
vsto take lightly
13 4.5

Ignore a person or thing because you think they are not important

is a broader attitude of underestimating importance rather than an abrupt dismissal
to underplay
vsto take lightly
6 5.3

Make something seem less important than it really is

is the wider tendency to treat matters as unimportant rather than downplay them
to sweep aside
vsto take lightly
3 4.7

To ignore an opinion or worry as unimportant

is a general underrating of importance rather than a forceful rejection
to pass off
vsto take lightly
2 4.1

To treat criticism or an insult as not important

is more general, applying to any underestimated matter not only criticism
to wave off
vsto take lightly
  • Informal
2 5.9

Treat something as unimportant and ignore it

is the general tendency to undervalue significance rather than the gesture of dismissal
to underemphasize
vsto take lightly
1 6.7

To give too little attention to something

is about underestimating significance rather than only failing to emphasize it

Antonyms

to take seriously
608 3.1

Think something is important and pay attention to it

to overestimate
50 4.1

To think something is larger or more important than it really is

How Serious

to acknowledge
286 3.9
to take lightly
22 4.2
to ignore
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

take lightly infinitive
taking lightly present participle
takes lightly third person singular
took lightly past
taken lightly past participle

Morphology

take + lightly

The sense 'to treat something as unimportant' is directly derivable from combining 'take' (to construe or treat) with 'lightly' (without seriousness or care). This verb + adverb composition follows regular English semantics and is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

Take lightly comes from the image of picking something up as if it has no weight — to take it lightly is like holding it gently because it seems small. That's why the phrase means 'to treat something as not important'.