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
In the end, though, all that pageantry can only smooth over so much.
—
Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2026
Not every tense moment needs to be smoothed over.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Industry norms have developed to smooth over those differences.
—Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Cuts and restructures are required to smooth over the team’s cap situation for 2026.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 17 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for smooth over
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Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 7 Feb. 2026
Not every tense moment needs to be smoothed over.
—Benjamin Laker, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026
Industry norms have developed to smooth over those differences.
—Peter Burke, FOXNews.com, 24 Jan. 2026
Cuts and restructures are required to smooth over the team’s cap situation for 2026.
—Alec Lewis, New York Times, 17 Jan. 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 10 Feb. 2026.
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