smooth over
(tr) to ease or gloss over: to smooth over a situation
Words Nearby smooth over
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
How to use smooth over in a sentence
He has spoken about how he would listen to her to smooth over the rough days, or heighten his joy.
Billie Holiday, Barack Obama, and the Pain of Black Women | Joshua DuBois | June 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTAt times, progressives go to great lengths to smooth over the differences between them and the party establishment.
The opposition of these groups marks a new obstacle in efforts to smooth over the partisan divide on Capitol Hill.
Plus, A.L. Bardach on whether Arnold's lying to smooth over his past.
Despondent over the turn of events, Ford asked her sons, Mike, Steve, and Jack, to try to smooth over tensions with the center.
Betty Ford Center's Messy Path After Former First Lady's Death | Lois Romano | November 9, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
He refused to smooth over their wrong doing or listen to the excuses they offered for going to war.
Four American Indians | Edson L. WhitneyCould you see anything in that blind-like look sideways—and hair so smooth over the ear?
Where the Pavement Ends | John RussellI had been willing to smooth over all differences with him until he made Mary Desmond the issue between us.
In Hostile Red | Joseph AltshelerHe must know how to deal with his pupils, how to smooth over the rough places of temperament.
The Psychology of Singing | David C. TaylorThis wears you out more than anything, for you have always to be ready to smooth over and soften every sentence that is said.
Lazy Thoughts of a Lazy Girl | Jenny Wren
Other Idioms and Phrases with smooth over
Rid of obstructions or difficulties, as in We tried to smooth things over between the families before the wedding but did not succeed. [Late 1600s]
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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