smooth

[smooth]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smooth ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective, smooth·er, smooth·est.

free from projections or unevenness of surface; not rough: smooth wood; a smooth road.

generally flat or unruffled, as a calm sea.

free from hairs or a hairy growth: a smooth cheek.

of uniform consistency; free from lumps, as a batter, sauce, etc.

free from or proceeding without abrupt curves, bends, etc.: a smooth ride.

allowing or having an even, uninterrupted movement or flow: smooth driving.

easy and uniform, as motion or the working of a machine.

having projections worn away: a smooth tire casing.

free from hindrances or difficulties: a smooth day at the office.

noting a metal file having the minimum commercial grade of coarseness for a single-cut file.Compare dead-smooth.

undisturbed, tranquil, or equable, as the feelings, temper, etc.; serene: a smooth disposition.

elegant, easy, or polished: smooth manners.

ingratiatingly polite or suave: That salesman is a smooth talker.

free from harshness, sharpness, or bite; bland or mellow, as cheese or wine.

not harsh to the ear, as sound: the smooth music of a ballroom dance band.

Phonetics. without aspiration.

adverb

in a smooth manner; smoothly.

verb (used with object)

to make smooth of surface, as by scraping, planing, or pressing.

to remove (projections, ridges, wrinkles, etc.) in making something smooth (often followed by away or out).

to free from difficulties.

to remove (obstacles) from a path (often followed by away).

to make more polished, elegant, or agreeable, as wording or manners.

to tranquilize, calm, or soothe (a person, the feelings, etc.).

Mathematics. to simplify (an expression) by substituting approximate or certain known values for the variables.

noun

act of smoothing: She adjusted the folds with a smooth of her hand.

something that is smooth; a smooth part or place: through the rough and the smooth.

Verb Phrases

smooth over, to make seem less severe, disagreeable, or irreconcilable; allay; mitigate: He smoothed over my disappointment with kind words.

Origin of smooth

before 1050; (adj.) Middle English smothe, late Old English smōth; compare Middle English smethe, Old English smēthe smooth; cognate with Old Saxon smōthi; (v.) late Middle English smothen, derivative of the adj.; replacing Middle English smethen, Old English smēth(i)an

Related formssmooth·a·ble, adjectivesmooth·er, nounsmooth·ly, adverbsmooth·ness, nouno·ver·smooth, adjectiveo·ver·smooth·ly, adverbo·ver·smooth·ness, nounpre·smooth, verb (used with object)re·smooth, verb (used with object)un·smooth, adjectiveun·smooth·ly, adverbun·smooth·ness, nounun·smoothed, adjective

Synonyms for smooth

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR smooth ON THESAURUS.COM

1. glossy, polished, even, flat. See level.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for smoothly

evenly, easily, simply, effortlessly, swimmingly, fluently, placidly

Examples from the Web for smoothly

Contemporary Examples of smoothly

And George Herbert Walker Bush for smoothly overseeing the end of the Cold War.
Will the Tapes That Destroyed Nixon Help Rehabilitate His Image?
Scott Porch
August 6, 2014
Until recently, Rice was smoothly on track to become the Edmund Hillary of foreign-policy strivers.
Susan Rice Didn’t Deserve State Post, Let Alone Her U.N. Role
Jacob Heilbrunn
December 14, 2012
Former Moral Majoritarian Ralph Reed smoothly explained how.
The GOP Faces Years in the Wilderness After 2012 Election Losses
Robert Shrum
November 26, 2012
Will the project live up to its apocalyptic name—or go as smoothly as the first Carmageddon 14 months ago?
Los Angeles Area Girds for Carmageddon II Freeway Closure
Christine Pelisek
September 28, 2012
But her first run didn't quite go as smoothly as her teammates had hoped.
6 Classic Olympic Tearjerker Moments (Video)
Sara Gilford
July 27, 2012

Historical Examples of smoothly

Presently she reappeared, and with her, smoothly talking her down, came the young man.
Meadow Grass
Alice Brown
It doesn't strike you that they went off a little too smoothly, does it?'
A Woman Intervenes
Robert Barr
This was a wide stream, smoothly hurrying, without rapids or tumult.
The Forest
Stewart Edward White
Then mix it smoothly with the yeast, and stir it into the household flour.
The Skilful Cook
Mary Harrison
His garments clung as tightly and smoothly as if he had been kneaded into them—as, indeed, he had.
The Strolling Saint
Raphael Sabatini

British Dictionary definitions for smoothly

smooth

adjective

resting in the same plane; without bends or irregularities

silky to the touchsmooth velvet

lacking roughness of surface; flat

tranquil or unruffledsmooth temper

lacking obstructions or difficulties

suave or persuasive, esp as suggestive of insincerity
(in combination)smooth-tongued

(of the skin) free from hair

of uniform consistencysmooth batter

not erratic; free from joltssmooth driving

not harsh or astringenta smooth wine

having all projections worn awaysmooth tyres

maths (of a curve) differentiable at every point

phonetics without preliminary or simultaneous aspiration

gentle to the ear; flowing

physics (of a plane, surface, etc) regarded as being frictionless

adverb

in a calm or even manner; smoothly

verb (mainly tr)

(also intr often foll by down) to make or become flattened or without roughness or obstructions

(often foll by out or away) to take or rub (away) in order to make smoothshe smoothed out the creases in her dress

to make calm; soothe

to make easiersmooth his path

electrical engineering to remove alternating current ripple from the output of a direct current power supply

obsolete to make more polished or refined

noun

the smooth part of something

the act of smoothing

tennis squash badminton the side of a racket on which the binding strings form a continuous lineCompare rough (def. 27)

Word Origin for smooth

Old English smōth; related to Old Saxon māthmundi gentle-minded, smōthi smooth

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for smoothly

adv.

1520s, "in a smooth manner, blandly," from smooth (adj.) + -ly (2). Meaning "without impediment or complications" is from 1660s.

smooth

adj.

Old English smoð "smooth, serene, calm," variant of smeðe "free from roughness, not harsh, polished; soft; suave; agreeable," of unknown origin and with no known cognates. Of words, looks, "pleasant, polite, sincere" late 14c., but later "flattering, insinuating" (mid-15c.). Slang meaning "superior, classy, clever" is attested from 1893. Sense of "stylish" is from 1922.

Smooth-bore in reference to guns is from 1812. smooth talk (v.) is recorded from 1950. A 1599 dictionary has smoothboots "a flatterer, a faire spoken man, a cunning tongued fellow." The usual Old English form was smeðe, and there is a dialectal smeeth found in places names, e.g. Smithfield, Smedley.

smooth

late Old English smoþ "to make smooth," replacing smeðan "to smooth, soften, polish; appease, soothe;" smeðian "smoothen, become smooth," from the source of smooth (adj.). Meaning "to make smooth" is c.1200. Related: Smoothed; smoothing. Middle English also had a verb form smoothen (mid-14c.).

Idioms and Phrases with smoothly

smooth

In addition to the idioms beginning with smooth

smooth as silk
smooth over
smooth sailing

also see:

take the rough with the smooth