trivialize
/ˈtrɪvɪəlʌɪz
/(also trivialise)
verb [with object]
Make (something) seem less important, significant, or complex than it really is: the problem was either trivialized or ignored by teachers...
- In fact, many Christians argue that secular display of the Ten Commandments places them in an improper context and trivializes the important role those teachings play in our lives.
- As a result, the film seems to trivialize important events in Dutch history.
- I don't mean to trivialize sports and the important role they play in our society.
Synonyms
treat as unimportant, minimize, play down, underplay, make light of, treat lightly, make little of, think little of, laugh off, dismiss, underestimate, undervalue, devalue, belittle, deprecate, scoff at
informal pooh-pooh
archaic hold cheap
rare misprize, derogate, minify
Derivatives
trivialization
/ noun ...- Eventually, the trivialization of the name will continue until the word has only a vague meaning, perhaps implying a ‘bad’ person.
- And he warned that American journalists are threatened by ‘the trivialization of our industry.’
- The trivialization of sexual assault, though, is not a laughing matter.