humorize

present singular third person humorizes · participle present humorizing · participle past humorized · past humorized · alternative humorise · alternative humourise · alternative humourize

1. raretransitiveTo humor someone.
2. raretransitiveTo make (an often-serious topic) humorous.

   I was able to humorize the situation and make it not sound so serious to her.

   2019 November 11, Earl Spivey, Tears of Gethsemane: A Pastor's Journey through Leukemia, Christian Faith Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

   4 more examples

   There are hundreds of terms for masturbation in men such as "spanking the monkey" or "charming the snake," which serve to humorize but also to avoid directly discussing the topic.

   2023 February 9, Jon E. Grant, Samuel R. Chamberlain, Impulse: The Science of Sex and Desire, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, page 38

   […] that were invented by the servicemen and women to undercut, satirize, humorize, and ironize their bleak situation, and to "evoke the cant of horse-age military supply."

   2001, Christopher Edgar, Gary Lenhart, editors, The Teachers & Writers Guide to Classic American Literature, Teachers & Writers, →ISBN, page 267

   That is, in both subtle and blatant ways, utterances report, assert, confirm, claim, doubt, deny, imply, suggest, hint, request, command, forbid, humorize, belittle, pronounce, decree, and so on.

   2016 December 8, Robert W. Schrauf, Mixed Methods: Interviews, Surveys, and Cross-Cultural Comparisons, Cambridge University Press, →ISBN

   […] to my family and friends who will understand my candor, my sarcastic licks, intensity in openness and my own unique way to “humorize” life's experiences.

   2010 March 11, John W. Edwards III, 2012 Global Warning, iUniverse, →ISBN