| English Dictionary |
SMOOTH
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
| IPA (US): |  |
Dictionary entry overview: What does smooth mean?
• SMOOTH (noun)
The noun SMOOTH has 1 sense:
1. the act of smoothing
Familiarity information: SMOOTH used as a noun is very rare.
• SMOOTH (adjective)
The adjective SMOOTH has 8 senses:
1. having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
2. smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication
3. of the margin of a leaf shape; not broken up into teeth
4. smooth and unconstrained in movement
5. (music) without breaks between notes; smooth and connected
6. of motion that runs or flows or proceeds without jolts or turbulence
7. lacking obstructions or difficulties
8. (of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves
Familiarity information: SMOOTH used as an adjective is common.
• SMOOTH (verb)
The verb SMOOTH has 3 senses:
1. make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
2. make (a surface) shine
3. free from obstructions
Familiarity information: SMOOTH used as a verb is uncommon.
Dictionary entry details
Sense 1
Meaning:
The act of smoothing
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Context example:
he gave his hair a quick smooth
Hypernyms ("smooth" is a kind of...):
accomplishment; achievement (the action of accomplishing something)
Derivation:
smooth (make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing)
| Declension: comparative and superlative |
Superlative: smoothest
Sense 1
Meaning:
Having a surface free from roughness or bumps or ridges or irregularities
Context example:
water as smooth as a mirror
Similar:
velvet; velvet-textured; velvety (smooth and soft to sight or hearing or touch or taste)
aerodynamic; flowing; sleek; streamlined (designed or arranged to offer the least resistant to fluid flow)
seamless; unlined; unseamed (smooth, especially of skin)
creaseless; uncreased (used especially of fabrics)
even-textured (having an even texture)
fast ((of surfaces) conducive to rapid speeds)
fine-textured; smooth-textured (having a smooth, fine-grained structure)
glassy (resembling glass in smoothness and shininess and slickness)
Also:
ironed ((of linens or clothes) smoothed with a hot iron)
slippery; slippy (causing or tending to cause things to slip or slide)
fine (of textures that are smooth to the touch or substances consisting of relatively small particles)
even (being level or straight or regular and without variation as e.g. in shape or texture; or being in the same plane or at the same height as something else (i.e. even with))
Antonym:
rough (having or caused by an irregular surface)
Derivation:
smoothness (a texture without roughness; smooth to the touch)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication
Synonyms:
Context example:
the manager pacified the customer with a smooth apology for the error
Similar:
diplomatic; diplomatical (using or marked by tact in dealing with sensitive matters or people)
Derivation:
smoothness (the quality of being bland and gracious or ingratiating in manner)
Sense 3
Meaning:
Of the margin of a leaf shape; not broken up into teeth
Similar:
entire ((of leaves or petals) having a smooth edge; not broken up into teeth or lobes)
repand (having a slightly undulating margin)
sinuate (having a strongly waved margin alternately concave and convex)
undulate (having a wavy margin and rippled surface)
unnotched; untoothed (having no notches)
Also:
simple; unsubdivided ((botany) of leaf shapes; of leaves having no divisions or subdivisions)
compound (composed of more than one part)
Domain category:
botany; phytology (the branch of biology that studies plants)
Antonym:
rough (of the margin of a leaf shape; having the edge cut or fringed or scalloped)
Derivation:
smoothness (the quality of having a level and even surface)
Sense 4
Meaning:
Smooth and unconstrained in movement
Synonyms:
Context example:
the liquid grace of a ballerina
Similar:
graceful (characterized by beauty of movement, style, form, or execution)
Derivation:
smoothness (the quality of being free from errors or interruptions)
Sense 5
Meaning:
(music) without breaks between notes; smooth and connected
Synonyms:
legato; smooth
Context example:
a legato passage
Domain category:
music (an artistic form of auditory communication incorporating instrumental or vocal tones in a structured and continuous manner)
Derivation:
smoothness (the quality of being free from errors or interruptions)
Sense 6
Meaning:
Of motion that runs or flows or proceeds without jolts or turbulence
Context example:
a smooth ride
Antonym:
rough (causing or characterized by jolts and irregular movements)
Derivation:
smoothness (the quality of being free from errors or interruptions)
Sense 7
Meaning:
Lacking obstructions or difficulties
Context example:
the bill's path through the legislature was smooth and orderly
Similar:
easy (posing no difficulty; requiring little effort)
Derivation:
smoothness (the quality of being free from errors or interruptions)
Sense 8
Meaning:
(of a body of water) free from disturbance by heavy waves
Synonyms:
placid; quiet; smooth; still; tranquil; unruffled
Context example:
unruffled water
Similar:
calm ((of weather) free from storm or wind)
Derivation:
smoothness (the quality of having a level and even surface)
| Conjugation: |
... he / she / it smoothes / smooths Past simple: smoothed
Past participle: smoothed
-ing form: smoothing
Sense 1
Meaning:
Make smooth or smoother, as if by rubbing
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Synonyms:
smooth; smoothen
Context example:
smooth the surface of the wood
Hypernyms (to "smooth" is one way to...):
change surface (undergo or cause to undergo a change in the surface)
"Smooth" entails doing...:
rub (move over something with pressure)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "smooth"):
strip (remove the thread (of screws))
launch (smoothen the surface of)
rake (level or smooth with a rake)
plane (make even or smooth, with or as with a carpenter's plane)
float (make the surface of level or smooth)
sand; sandpaper (rub with sandpaper)
sandblast (grind with a sandblast)
file (smooth with a file)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Antonym:
roughen (make rough or rougher)
Also:
smooth over (treat hurriedly or avoid dealing with properly)
Derivation:
smooth (the act of smoothing)
smoother (a power tool used for sanding wood; an endless loop of sandpaper is moved at high speed by an electric motor)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Make (a surface) shine
Classified under:
Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging
Synonyms:
polish; shine; smooth; smoothen
Context example:
polish my shoes
Hypernyms (to "smooth" is one way to...):
beautify; embellish; fancify; prettify (make more beautiful)
"Smooth" entails doing...:
rub (move over something with pressure)
Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "smooth"):
Simonise; Simonize (polish with wax)
sleek; slick (make slick or smooth)
buff; burnish; furbish (polish and make shiny)
gloss (give a shine or gloss to, usually by rubbing)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Sentence example:
They smooth the glass tubes
Sense 3
Meaning:
Free from obstructions
Classified under:
Verbs of buying, selling, owning
Synonyms:
smooth; smooth out
Context example:
smooth the way towards peace negotiations
Hypernyms (to "smooth" is one way to...):
disembarrass; free; rid (relieve from)
Sentence frames:
Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something
Context examples
Our client smoothed down his unbrushed hair and felt his unshaven chin.
(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
The stool was smooth, and Peggotty was rough, but that made no difference.
(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)
My friends find for me a place in a college, where I teach as at home, and earn enough to make the way smooth for Franz and Emil.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
The cave had evidently been water-worn, the sides being smooth and the floor covered with rounded stones.
(The Lost World, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
This protein is involved in both transcriptional activation and smooth muscle development.
(MKL/Myocardin-Like Protein 1, NCI Thesaurus)
The middle one third of the esophagus in which the muscle layer is composed of muscle cells of the striated and smooth types.
(Middle Third of the Esophagus, NCI Thesaurus)
“This is it. There is no name,” said she, smoothing it out upon the counter.
(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
There was a great, smooth swell upon the sea.
(Treasure Island, by Robert Louis Stevenson)
Bennu’s surface material is a mix of very rocky, boulder-filled regions and a few relatively smooth regions that lack boulders.
(NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Spacecraft Discovers Water on Asteroid, NASA)
Actin, aortic smooth muscle (377 aa, ~42 kDa) is encoded by the human ACTA2 gene.
(Actin, Aortic Smooth Muscle, NCI Thesaurus)
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