smooth
[adjective]
Synonyms:
- even, flat, flush, horizontal, level, plane
- sleek, glossy, polished, shiny, silky, soft, velvety
- easy, effortless, well-ordered
- flowing, regular, rhythmic, steady, uniform
- suave, facile, glib, persuasive, slick, smarmy (Brit. informal), unctuous, urbane
- mellow, agreeable, mild, pleasant
[verb]
Synonyms:
- flatten, iron, level, plane, press
- calm, appease, assuage, ease, mitigate, mollify, soften

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Antonyms: rough, labored, unsmooth
Contrasted words: harsh, rugged, scabrous, uneven, bluff, blunt, brusque, crusty, curt, gruff, corrugate, roughen, wrinkle
Related Idioms: smooth and easy
Related Words: glossy, sleek, slick, rippleless, unbroken, unwrinkled, smooth-running, courteous, courtly, polite, smooth-faced, smooth-tongued, agreeable, soothing

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English Thesaurus: amount, quantity, volume, level, proportion, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

I. smooth¹ W3 /smuːð/ adjective (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)
[Word Family: noun: smoothness, smoothie; verb: smooth; adverb: smoothly; adjective: smooth]
[Language: Old English; Origin: smoth]

1. SURFACE a smooth surface has no rough parts, lumps, or holes, especially in a way that is pleasant and attractive to touch Antonym : rough:
Her skin felt smooth and cool.
a smooth pebble
The stone steps had been worn smooth.

2. HAPPENING WITHOUT PROBLEMS happening or operating successfully, without any problems
smooth running/operation
Sarah is responsible for the smooth running of the sales department.
The new government has promised a smooth transition of power. ⇒ go smoothly at smoothly(2)

3. MOVEMENT [only before noun] with no sudden movements or changes of direction, especially in a way that is graceful or comfortable:
Swing the tennis racket in one smooth motion.
The jet made a smooth landing.
smooth flight/ride (=a comfortable trip in an airplane or car)
It wasn’t a very smooth ride.

4. PERSON someone who is smooth is polite, confident, and relaxed, but is often not sincere:
a smooth salesman
He was a smooth talker.
George is a smooth operator (=someone who does things in a smooth way).

5. LIQUID MIXTURE a liquid mixture that is smooth has no big pieces in it Antonym : lumpy:
Beat the eggs and flour until they are smooth.

6. SOUND a voice or music that is smooth is soft and pleasant to listen to:
smooth jazz
He has one of those silky smooth (=very smooth) voices.

7. TASTE a drink such as wine, coffee, whisky, or beer that is smooth is not bitter but tastes pleasant:
a smooth full-bodied wine
—smoothness noun [uncountable]:
the smoothness of his skin
⇒ smooth-talking

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

II. smooth² verb [transitive]
[Word Family: noun: smoothness, smoothie; verb: smooth; adverb: smoothly; adjective: smooth]

1. to make something such as cloth or hair flat by moving your hands across it:
Liz smoothed her skirt and sat down.
smooth something back/down
She smoothed back her hair.

2. (also smooth down) to make a rough surface flat and even:
The wood was smoothed and trimmed to size.
Smooth down all the surfaces before you start painting.

3. [always + adverb/preposition] to rub a liquid, cream etc gently over a surface or into a surface
smooth something into/over something
She smoothed suntan lotion over her legs.

4. smooth the way/path for something to make it easier for something to happen, by dealing with any problems first:
Staff helped smooth the way for the new administration.
smooth something ↔ away phrasal verb
to get rid of problems or difficulties:
A few objections have to be smoothed away before we can start the project.
smooth something ↔ out phrasal verb

1. to make something such as paper or cloth flat by moving your hands across it:
They smoothed out the map on the table.
Smooth out all the wrinkles.

2. to make something happen in an even regular way:
Sometimes central banks intervene to smooth out price fluctuations.

3. to get rid of problems or difficulties
smooth something ↔ over phrasal verb
if you smooth over problems, difficulties etc, you make them seem less serious and easier to control, especially by talking to the people who are involved in the problem:
Sally managed to smooth over the bad feelings between them.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

smooth
adj.
I. without bumps
VERBS be, feel, look | become | wear sth The steps had been worn smooth by the thousands of passing feet.
ADV. beautifully, exceptionally, extremely, really, very her beautifully smooth complexion
completely, perfectly | almost | fairly, quite | deceptively the deceptively smooth surface of the glacier

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smooth
II. without problems
VERBS be, feel, look, seem | become
ADV. extremely, incredibly, really, remarkably, very The project got off to a remarkably smooth start.
completely | not entirely The process of negotiation was not entirely smooth.
almost | fairly, quite, reasonably, relatively a fairly smooth transition to democracy

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

smooth
verb
ADV. carefully, gently She smoothed his hair gently.
back, down, out Her mother smoothed back Alice's hair. Use an iron to smooth out any creases.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

amount how much of something there is:
Try to reduce the amount of fat in your diet.
a tiny amount of poison
quantity a particular amount of food, liquid, or another substance that can be measured – used especially in written descriptions and instructions:
Make sure that you add the right quantity of milk.
They buy the wood in large quantities.
volume the amount of something such as business activity or traffic, especially when this is large or increasing:
The volume of traffic on our roads has risen sharply.
the huge volume of trade with China
level the exact amount of something at one time, which can go up or down at other times:
They measured the level of alcohol in his blood.
There is a high level of unemployment.
proportion the amount of something, compared with the whole amount that exists:
the proportion of road accidents caused by drunk drivers
A high proportion of the students were from poor families.
quota a maximum amount of something that can be produced, sold, brought into a country etc:
import quotas on Japanese cars
yield /jiːld/ the amount of something that is produced, especially crops:
this year’s cotton yield
flat on one level, without any holes or raised areas, and not sloping or curving:
a flat roof
a flat screen
Before you lay the tiles, make sure that the ground is completely flat.
smooth without any holes or raised areas – used especially when saying how something feels when you touch it:
her lovely smooth skin
I ran my hand across the animal’s smooth fur.
even without any holes or raised areas:
Apply the paint to an even surface.
Be careful – the path is not very even here.
horizontal going straight across and not sloping:
a horizontal line
Raise both arms to a horizontal position.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

comfortable making you feel physically relaxed, and not too hard, hot, cold etc. Also used about people feeling physically relaxed:
The hotel was very comfortable.
I tried to get into a more comfortable position.
comfy informal comfortable – used especially about furniture and clothes:
a comfy armchair
These shoes are very comfy.
Are you comfy?
cosy British English, cozy American English comfortable and warm – used especially about small rooms, houses etc:
There’s a cosy lounge with a real fire.
a cozy apartment
snug small, warm, and comfortable, especially in a way that makes you feel protected – used especially about rooms, houses etc. Also used about people feeling warm and comfortable:
It was very cold outside, but our tents were snug and warm.
She wished she was back in her snug little house.
I’m snug as a rug in here! (=very snug – an informal use BrE)
smooth a smooth journey is comfortable because your car or plane does not shake, or the sea is not rough:
Did you have a smooth flight?
a smooth crossing
cosy room/house/fire

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲

flat on one level, without any holes or raised areas, and not sloping or curving:
a flat roof
a flat screen
Before you lay the tiles, make sure that the ground is completely flat.
level not sloping in any direction, so that every part is at the same height:
Is the top of this picture level?
After four hours coming down the mountain, I was glad to be back on level ground.
smooth without any holes or raised areas – used especially when saying how something feels when you touch it:
her lovely smooth skin
I ran my hand across the animal’s smooth fur.
even without any holes or raised areas:
Apply the paint to an even surface.
Be careful – the path is not very even here.
horizontal going straight across and not sloping:
a horizontal line
Raise both arms to a horizontal position.
small
The flat was too small for the three of them.
big/spacious
It was a big flat with eight or nine rooms.
cramped/poky (=too small and not comfortable)
She spends most days shut up in a poky flat looking after her disabled Mum.
a one-bedroom/two-bedroom etc flat
She lived in a one-bedroom flat in Clapham.
a one-room/two-room etc flat
Their home is a humble two-room flat.
a ground-floor/first-floor/second-floor etc flat
We’re moving into a first-floor flat.
a basement flat (=a flat that is below ground level)
They lived in a basement flat in South London.
a studio flat (=with one main room)
I might just be able to afford a tiny studio flat.
high-rise flats (=flats in a very tall building)
Many high-rise flats were built in the 1970s.
a rented flat
He returned to his rented flat in Cheltenham.
a luxury flat
Laura shares a luxury flat with her sister Chloe.
a self-contained flat (=a flat with its own kitchen and bathroom)
We rented a self-contained flat in the city centre.
a furnished/unfurnished flat (=a rented flat that does or does not have furniture)
She found a job and a furnished flat.
a holiday flat
The building has been converted into three holiday flats.
a block of flats (=a large building divided into separate flats)
At the time, I lived in a block of flats in St John’s Wood.
live in a flat
Terry lived in a flat on the second floor.
buy a flat
I had planned to buy a flat with Geraldine.
rent a flat
Renting a flat can be very expensive in this part of town.
move into a flat
They move into their new flat next week.
own a flat
The couple own their own flat in Peebles.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲