smooth over

British  

verb

1. (tr) to ease or gloss over

   to smooth over a situation

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smooth over Idioms  

1. Rid of obstructions or difficulties, as in We tried to smooth things over between the families before the wedding but did not succeed. [Late 1600s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

smooth over

On Tuesday, Rubio sought to smooth over such difficulties, stressing that Washington wouldn’t expand its military activities in Iceland without the country’s cooperation and emphasizing U.S. respect for its sovereignty.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 6, 2026

Torrenting was also fast and smooth over ExpressVPN.

From Salon ● Mar. 13, 2026

Though they later held meetings to smooth over their differences, the network is again livid following the reauthorization of German agrochemical giant Bayer's dicamba herbicide for sprayed use on genetically modified soybean and cotton.

From Barron's ● Feb. 16, 2026

Supporters say the proposal, which the supervisors are pushing to get on the November ballot, would offer a new tool to smooth over disputes and provide a “reset” after recent tumultuous contract negotiations.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026

You start trying to reshape the nose and smooth over some of the bumps, but the clay has started to harden and it’s a lot more difficult to work with.

From "Ugly" by Robert Hoge

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