Learn English – what is the verb for “to make something humorous”

meaningverbs

Initially I thought "to humor" means "to make something humorous". Per OED and Merriam-Webster, however, I learned that to humor means "to indulge", NOT "to make something humorous".

While "to humorize" does mean to make something humorous, [https://en.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/humorize][1]
OED and Merriam-Webster have not accepted it as a standard English word. Thus, what would be the synonymous verbs for "to humorize" as applicable in the following scenario –

In a group message, someone mistook a particular female member as a man and called her out by addressing her with the title Mr. Another guy tried to "humorize" the situation and replied to the whole group with the following message "why did you call me out to do xyz" ?

Would "to pun" be able to replace "to humorize" in this scenario ?

Best Answer

There is no really common single verb for this.

Two common expressions are:

They are also frequently used together.

So:

Another guy tried to lighten the mood, and made a joke out of the situation by replying to the whole group that . . .

Related Topic