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smooth Definition

smooth (smo̵̅o̅t̸h)

adjective

    1. having an even or level surface; having no roughness or projections that can be seen or felt
    2. having its projections leveled by wear a smooth tire
  2. having an even consistency; without lumps a smooth paste
  3. even, calm, or gentle in flow or movement a smooth voyage
  4. free from interruptions, obstacles, difficulties, etc. smooth progress
  5. not easily agitated or ruffled; calm; serene a smooth temper
  6. free from hair, beard, etc.
  7. pleasing to the taste; not sharp or harsh; bland
  8. having an easy, gentle, flowing rhythm or sound
  9. ☆ suave, polished, or ingratiating, esp. in a flattering, insincere way
  10. ☆ Informal polished; competent a smooth dancer
  11. Slang very pleasant, attractive, or enjoyable
  12. Mech. having relatively little friction
  13. Phonet. articulated without aspiration

Etymology: ME smothe < OE smoth, for earlier smethe < Gmc *smanthi < IE *som-, together < base *sem-, together, same

transitive verb

  1. to make level or even
  2. to remove the lumps from
  3. to remove wrinkles from by pressing
  4. to free from interruptions, difficulties, etc.; make easy
  5. to make calm or serene; soothe
  6. to make less crude; polish or refine

intransitive verb

to become smooth

adverb

in a smooth manner

noun

  1. something smooth; smooth part
  2. an act of smoothing

smooth Related Forms
smooth′er noun smooth′ly adverb smooth′·ness noun
smooth Idioms

smooth away

to remove (difficulties, obstacles, etc.)

smooth down

to make or become smooth, or even, level, calm, etc.

smooth over

to gloss over or make light of (a fault, unpleasant situation, etc.)

smooth Synonyms

smooth

modif.

  1. Without bumps

    flat, plane, even, flush, horizontal, unwrinkled, unvarying, level, monotonous, unrelieved, unruffled, mirrorlike, quiet, still, tranquil, sleek, glossy, glassy, lustrous, smooth as glass.

    Antonyms rough*, steep*, broken. *

  2. Without jerks

    uniform, regular, even, invariable, undeviating, steady, stable, fluid, flowing, rhythmic, constant, equable, singsong, continuous.

    Antonyms changeable*, spasmodic*, erratic. *

  3. Without hair

    shaven, beardless, whiskerless, clean-shaven, smooth-faced, smooth-chinned, glabrescent, glabrous; see also bald.

    Antonyms hairy*, bearded*, unshaven.

  4. Without qualities that are socially disturbing

    suave, mild, genial; see polite 1.

  5. Without irritants to the taste

    bland, soft, creamlike; see creamy, delicious 1. See syn. study at easy, level.

smooth Synonyms

smooth

v.

  1. To remove unevenness

    even, level, flatten, grade, pave, macadamize, iron, burnish, polish, glaze, varnish, gloss, remove obstruction, remove roughness, sand, clear the way, smooth the path.

    Antonyms wrinkle*, roughen*, corrugate. *

  2. To mollify

    palliate, mellow, mitigate; see decrease 2, ease 2, soften 2.

smooth Usage Examples

Object

  • transition: For the morphing sequence, five prosthetic models were photographed with the transitions smoothed using Elastic Reality software.
  • spline: The Spline Estimation option offers a variety of interpolating and smoothing splines.
  • path: We've picked out a few to help smooth the path of true love this February 14th.
  • skin: From the first application, it smoothes skin and refines and tones facial contours to promote radiant, more youthful looking features.
  • surface: You may need to run a hot knife over the cheese on the second or third day in order to smooth the surface.
  • edge: Smoothed edges around the holes indicate that the wounds healed in time.

Preposition: as

  • silk: Fabric of Your Mind Does the fabric of your mind, Feel as rough as sackcloth, Or as smooth as silk?

Modifies a noun

  • running: The site rules are there to ensure the smooth running of the site for the benefit of all members.
  • transition: A smooth transition from a project to routine practice should be the objective.
  • muscle: Brain cells can give rise to all previous cells types including the peripheral nervous system and smooth muscle.
  • surface: Easy to paint - smooth surface Any kind of effect can be achieved on our products.
  • paste: Blend together with a fork to make a smooth paste.
  • newt: I can't work out what species they are as they didn't look like the pictures of smooth newts I can find.

Used with adjective complement

  • polish: Where the plate is polished smooth, no ink will adhere and so will appear as high lights.
  • appear: Also, the interior of the museum specimen appears smooth compared with the recreated dissection.

Followed by an intransitive particle

  • over: The hideous abuse of human rights in right-wing, authoritarian dictatorships is ignored or smoothed over.

Followed by a transitive particle

  • over: Anthony and Craig's stormy relationship later boiled over again in the garden after Craig unsuccessfully tried to smooth things over.

Particle object:

  • wrinkle: Used on a regular basis Protox can therefore assist in eliminating the formation of wrinkles and soften and smooth out existing wrinkles.
  • irregularity: The flatness problem vanishes because the huge expansion blows the universe up so much that it smooths out irregularities.
  • bump: If you found a Regency cabinet you wouldn't nail a piece of mdf over it to smooth out the bumps ( would you?
smooth Quotes

And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, Behold,Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth man.

—Bible (Old Testament)

We do not like the confiding, the intimate, the ingratiating, the hail-fellow-well-met, but prefer the unapproachable, the hard-bitten, the recalcitrant, the sinister, the malignant, the saturnine, the cross-grained and the cankered, and the howling wilderness to the amenities of civilization, the irascible to the affable, the prickly to the smooth.We have no damned fellow- feeling at all.

—Grieve