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

Rather than focusing on a single area of expertise, Bleak Week anchors itself in a refusal to smooth over the universal experience of feeling, well, shitty. —Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 4 May 2026

The piece sits low to the ground and gathers organic and industrial materials without smoothing over the tension between them. —Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 1 May 2026

The mea culpa was well-received by the trio and underscored Cora’s ability to smooth over even the most awkward situations. —Steve Henson, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026

Then, Daisy speaks with Ben, hoping to smooth over the service before the guests’ arrival. —Rafaela Bassili, Vulture, 28 Apr. 2026

Rhymes for smooth over

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