smooth

[ smooth ]

/ smuð /

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See synonyms for: smooth / smoother / smoothest / smoothing 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.

OTHER WORDS FOR smooth

1 glossy, polished, even, flat.

See synonyms for smooth on Thesaurus.com

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Origin of smooth

First recorded before 1050; (adjective) Middle English smothe, late Old English smōth; compare Middle English smethe, Old English smēthe “smooth”; cognate with Old Saxon smōthi; (verb) late Middle English smothen, derivative of the adjective; replacing Middle English smethen, Old English smēth(i)an

synonym study for smooth

1. See level.

OTHER WORDS FROM smooth

smooth·a·ble, adjectivesmoother, nounsmoothly, adverbsmoothness, noun

o·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

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use smooth in a sentence

It’s smooth, it’s velvety, it’s creamy, and when you bite into the beans, they’re falling apart.
How to make dal makhani, the most luxurious and creamy dal of all|Joe Yonan|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
Part of McGill’s fee will be a bottle of 147-year-old bourbon that “was so smooth that I imagined a green snake slithering across an emerald lawn” — a fitting description for the entire novel.
Best thriller and mystery books of 2020|Maureen Corrigan, Richard Lipez|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
Surfactants in makeup and lotions make the product smoother.
Hints From Heloise: Staples to have on hand in the pantry|Heloise Heloise|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
While it’s been smooth sailing so far, Grand says he’s prepared if something should go wrong on one of his farming cycles.
The Airbnb for Farms Finds Fertile Soil in Ghana|Daniel Malloy|November 18, 2020|Ozy

The Morgan Stanley team doesn’t expect a smooth path upwards and noted that significant challenges remain.
Dump the dollar, stick with stocks and corporate bonds, Morgan Stanley advises heading into 2021|Lee Clifford|November 16, 2020|Fortune
Everything was moving ahead smoothly, and continued to for the rest of the year.
The Insurance Company Promised a Gender Reassignment. Then They Made a Mistake.|James Joiner|December 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Everything went smoothly, until the end of the second week: the on-board water filtration system failed.
Victor Mooney’s Epic Adventure for His Dead Brother|Justin Jones|October 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I feel like if we do a couple more records and things are still going smoothly, then we can talk about it.
Julian Casablancas Enters the Void: On the Strokes’ Friction, Why He Left NYC, and Starting Over|Marlow Stern|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
He wanted to act, and he would move whatever needed moving in order to keep the process working smoothly.
Washington Is Sorely Missing the Legislative Genius of Howard Baker|James Andrew Miller|June 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The controlling leaders being out of gear the machine did not run smoothly: there was nothing but friction and tension.
Napoleon's Marshals|R. P. Dunn-Pattison
After the Reserve Banks have been in operation long enough to be running smoothly, not a few branches will doubtless be organized.
Readings in Money and Banking|Chester Arthur Phillips
It goes more smoothly than any engine I ever saw, and is very easy and regular in its stroke.
Life of Richard Trevithick, Volume II (of 2)|Francis Trevithick
Each article of dress, when taken off, should be placed carefully and smoothly in its proper place.
The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness|Florence Hartley
It 67 was that the piece which reads smoothly seldom acts well; whereas a play that gets over the footlights usually reads poorly.
The Girls of Central High on the Stage|Gertrude W. Morrison

British Dictionary definitions for smooth

smooth

/ (smuːð) /

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)

Derived forms of smooth

smoothable, adjectivesmoother, nounsmoothly, adverbsmoothness, noun

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with smooth

smooth

In addition to the idioms beginning with smooth

smooth as silk
smooth over
smooth sailing

also see:

take the rough with the smooth

smooth

OTHER WORDS FOR smooth

Origin of smooth

synonym study for smooth

OTHER WORDS FROM smooth

Words related to smooth

How to use smooth in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for smooth

Derived forms of smooth

Word Origin for smooth

Other Idioms and Phrases with smooth