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 Devers trade was obviously a shock to the system and really unearthed a lot of the hard feelings that the Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman acquisitions seemed to smooth over.
—
Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 24 June 2025
Musk’s comments represent the tech mogul’s clearest effort yet to smooth over tensions after a blowup that upended months of close coordination between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful leader.
—Jesse Byrnes, The Hill, 11 June 2025
Google's Instant Apps tried to smooth over the experience by delivering an app live without installation.
—Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 13 June 2025
Fortunately, Venus in your sign will smooth over difficulties with others.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 9 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for smooth over
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Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 24 June 2025
Musk’s comments represent the tech mogul’s clearest effort yet to smooth over tensions after a blowup that upended months of close coordination between the world’s richest man and the world’s most powerful leader.
—Jesse Byrnes, The Hill, 11 June 2025
Google's Instant Apps tried to smooth over the experience by delivering an app live without installation.
—Ryan Whitwam, ArsTechnica, 13 June 2025
Fortunately, Venus in your sign will smooth over difficulties with others.
—Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 9 June 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 21 Jul. 2025.
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