laughing off

verb

present participle of laugh off
as in shrugging off

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for laughing off
  1. shrugging off
  2. playing down
  3. minimizing
  4. belittling
  5. undervaluing
Verb
  • Publicly, the White House is shrugging off the legal setbacks.
    — Toluse Olorunnipa, The Atlantic, 4 July 2026
  • Paul said, referring to an interview Edwards did several years ago shrugging off the Phoenix Suns’ addition of Kevin Durant.
    — Jon Krawczynski, New York Times, 4 July 2026
Definition of shrugging off
Verb
  • The game was in the 112th minute when Alvarez scored, a testimony to Switzerland’s outstanding defense, playing down a man since the 72nd minute.
    — Blair Kerkhoff, Kansas City Star, 12 July 2026
  • The host nation won comfortably despite playing down a man from the 64th minute on.
    — Veronica Fernandez-Alvarado, Sacbee.com, 1 July 2026
Definition of playing down
Verb
  • Autonomous ocean mining The Eureka Collection System is an autonomous underwater mining platform designed to selectively harvest polymetallic nodules from the deep ocean while minimizing environmental impact.
    — Jijo Malayil, Interesting Engineering, 15 July 2026
  • Operating in a 24/7/365 retail environment meant that minimizing business disruption was critical.
    — Scharon Harding, ArsTechnica, 15 July 2026
Definition of minimizing
Verb
  • The remark was meant to be an insult, belittling a company that seemed to care more about hardware profit margins than design and innovation.
    — Janko Roettgers, The Verge, 28 May 2026
  • Meeting a partner’s family can be challenging in any circumstance; anxieties about a family member saying something rude or belittling can only compound that.
    — R. Eric Thomas, Chicago Tribune, 1 May 2026
Definition of belittling
Verb
  • Stop undervaluing yourself, period.
    — Valerie Mesa, PEOPLE, 1 May 2026
  • For most of their history, the Panthers have gotten by with mediocre safeties, undervaluing a position that can be manned by a real game-changer.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 23 Apr. 2026
Definition of undervaluing
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

laughingly
laughing off
laughingstock
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Laughing off.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/laughing%20off. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of raffish

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

The Longest Long Words List

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

Why do we say 'fly off the handle'?
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
child-detective
Spot the Misspelled Word July 2026 Those little red underlines can't help you now...
See All