smooth over
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
For the Royals’ sake, hopefully Perez and Quatraro can smooth over any issues there might be.
—
Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Apr. 2026
Nakamura, who works almost exclusively in his native Japan, smooths over those divisions, creating reverent, porous structures that open to the landscape or curl in on themselves in repose.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
Skin should appear deeply nourished with a plumping effect that smooths over fine lines and other expression lines.
—Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 26 Mar. 2026
The process remains audible throughout — nothing is fully smoothed over.
—Keegan Brady, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smooth over
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Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 19 Apr. 2026
Nakamura, who works almost exclusively in his native Japan, smooths over those divisions, creating reverent, porous structures that open to the landscape or curl in on themselves in repose.
—Justin Davidson, Curbed, 1 Apr. 2026
Skin should appear deeply nourished with a plumping effect that smooths over fine lines and other expression lines.
—Jessie Quinn, StyleCaster, 26 Mar. 2026
The process remains audible throughout — nothing is fully smoothed over.
—Keegan Brady, Rolling Stone, 25 Mar. 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 26 Apr. 2026.
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