laugh at

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Explanation of "Laugh at"

Definition: The phrase "laugh at" means to find something funny or to mock someone or something. It can involve genuine amusement, but it often has a negative tone when it is used to ridicule or make fun of someone.

Advanced Usage:

In advanced contexts, "laugh at" can be used in discussions about social dynamics, bullying, or satire, where someone is not just finding something funny but is also expressing a power dynamic through ridicule.

Word Variants:

• Laugh: The base form, which means to make sounds of amusement.
• Laughter: The noun form, referring to the sound made when someone laughs.
• Laughable: An adjective meaning something that is deserving of being laughed at, often because it is silly or foolish.

Different Meanings:

1. Genuine Laughter: "I laughed at the movie because it was so funny."
2. Ridicule: "They laughed at his idea, thinking it was impossible."

Synonyms:

• Mock
• Ridicule
• Scoff at
• Jeer at
• Make fun of

Idioms:

• "Laugh it off": To dismiss something as unimportant by laughing about it.
  • Example: "When she made a mistake, she just laughed it off."

Phrasal Verb:

There are no commonly recognized phrasal verbs that directly incorporate "laugh at," but "laugh off" can be related, as it means to dismiss something by laughing about it.

Summary:

"Laugh at" is a versatile phrase that can convey both joy and mockery.

Academic

Verb

1. subject to laughter or ridicule
   • The satirists ridiculed the plans for a new opera house
   • The students poked fun at the inexperienced teacher
   • His former students roasted the professor at his 60th birthday

Synonyms

• ridicule
• roast
• guy
• blackguard
• jest at
• rib
• make fun
• poke fun