smooth
/smuːð/ adjective, adverb, noun, verb
Forms smoother smoothest smooths smoothing smoothed smeeth smoothe
- adjective Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
- adjective Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents. “We hope for a smooth transition to the new system.”
- adjective Bland; glib.
- adjective Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.
- adjective Suave; sophisticated.
- adjective (of an action) Natural; unconstrained.
- adjective (of a motion) Unbroken.
- adjective (chiefly of water) Placid, calm.
- adverb Smoothly. “The paths true love never ran smooth(ly).”
- noun Something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily.
- noun A smoothing action.
- noun A domestic animal having a smooth coat.
- noun A member of an anti-hippie fashion movement in 1970s Britain.
- noun (statistics) The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.
- verb (transitive) To make smooth or even.
- verb (transitive) To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure; to press, to flatten. “to smooth cloth with a smoothing iron”
- verb (transitive) To make straightforward or easy.
- verb (transitive) To calm or palliate.
- verb (statistics, image processing, digital audio) To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.
- verb (West Country) To stroke; especially to stroke an animal's fur. “Can I smooth your cat?”
Synonyms
fluid slick seamless even downy flat frictionless lanate level silken silklike silky sleek slight velutinous velvety smoothen polish shine smooth out politic suave bland fluent liquid legato placid quiet still tranquil
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English smothe, smethe, from Old English smēþe, smōþ, both from Proto-West Germanic *smanþī, of unknown origin. Cognate with Scots smuith (“smooth”), Saterland Frisian smoud (“smooth”), Low German smood and smödig (“smooth, malleable, ductile”), Dutch smeuïg (“smooth”) (from earlier smeudig).
Webster’s 1913
- adjective Having an even surface, or a surface so even that no roughness or points can be perceived by the touch; not rough; as, smooth glass; smooth porcelain. Chaucer.
- adjective Evenly spread or arranged; sleek; as, smooth hair.
- adverb Smoothly. Chaucer.
- noun The act of making smooth; a stroke which smooths. Thackeray.
Etymology [OE. smothe, smethe, AS. smeedhe, smoeedte, where e, oe, come from an older o; cf. LG. smöde, smöe, smödig; of uncertain origin.]
Etymology [OE. smothen, smethen, AS. smeedhian; cf. LG. smöden. See Smooth, a.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “smooth”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details