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
The Moon is uplifting Chiron, smoothing over any rough edges in your 2nd House of Wealth.
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Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
As Shula, Chardy moves through the aftermath of her uncle’s sudden death — discovered on a roadside at night — and the elaborate funeral rituals that follow, where aunties organize, gossip circulates, and everyone seems determined to smooth over the past rather than confront it.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
In a time where our appearances are being constantly modified (digitally and surgically), frozen, smoothed over and shrunk down, being part of the full bush agenda feels like an act of self-preservation.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for smooth over
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Tarot.com, New York Daily News, 5 Jan. 2026
As Shula, Chardy moves through the aftermath of her uncle’s sudden death — discovered on a roadside at night — and the elaborate funeral rituals that follow, where aunties organize, gossip circulates, and everyone seems determined to smooth over the past rather than confront it.
—Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 30 Dec. 2025
In a time where our appearances are being constantly modified (digitally and surgically), frozen, smoothed over and shrunk down, being part of the full bush agenda feels like an act of self-preservation.
—Leah Dolan, CNN Money, 23 Dec. 2025
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
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 13 Jan. 2026.
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