smooth over
phrasal verb
smoothed over; smoothing over; smooths over also smoothes over
: to make (a disagreement, problem, difficulty, etc.) seem less serious than it really is
Don't worry about missing the application deadline—we'll smooth that over with the office.
She smoothed over the objections to his candidacy.
Examples of smooth over in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And hydrating glycerin and soothing aloe vera put in the work to smooth over any irritation.
—
Sarah Felbin, Allure, 25 Feb. 2026
Human features are smoothed over, details are a touch too simplistic, and something about the movement feels way off.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 25 Feb. 2026
The role of any newspaper, especially one with the long and proud legacy of The Sun, is not to smooth over uncomfortable realities in the name of civility.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 16 Feb. 2026
In the end, though, all that pageantry can only smooth over so much.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smooth over
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Sarah Felbin, Allure, 25 Feb. 2026
Human features are smoothed over, details are a touch too simplistic, and something about the movement feels way off.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 25 Feb. 2026
The role of any newspaper, especially one with the long and proud legacy of The Sun, is not to smooth over uncomfortable realities in the name of civility.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 16 Feb. 2026
In the end, though, all that pageantry can only smooth over so much.
—Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smooth over
Cite this Entry
“Smooth over.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/smooth%20over. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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