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 Miami, Kapoor’s URBIN brand was trying to smooth over serious snags with city regulators while also hitting cost overruns. —Sarah Blaskey, Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2025

This set with a 100% mulberry silk face mask and pillowcase, both of which help smooth over fine lines and frizz. —Blake Bakkila, Architectural Digest, 1 Dec. 2025

Giza cotton is more luxurious and durable than standard cotton, with extra-long fibers that resist pilling, withstand regular washing, and remain smooth over time. —Mariana Best, Better Homes & Gardens, 26 Nov. 2025

String theory is a putative solution to the problem, replacing particles with minuscule lengths of vibrating string to smooth over snags that doom other candidate theories. —Matt Von Hippel, Quanta Magazine, 19 Nov. 2025

Rhymes for smooth over

• carryover
• changeover
• crossover
• cutover
• flashover
• hangover
• holdover
• layover
• leftover
• makeover
• moreover
• passover