# smooth

Pronunciation: say "SMOOTH" /smuːð/

## Adjective

1. Having a surface or texture that lacks roughness and offers little friction.
   - Simple: Having a surface that feels even and not rough to the touch.
   - _The river stones had been worn smooth by centuries of flowing water._
   - _A freshly sanded board feels remarkably smooth._
2. Proceeding without difficulty, problems, or unexpected setbacks.
   - Simple: Happening easily, without trouble or surprises.
   - _The merger went through after surprisingly smooth negotiations._
   - _A well-rehearsed crew kept the launch smooth from start to finish._
5. Flowing or spoken without interruption or harshness; fluent and pleasant to hear.
   - Simple: Flowing easily and pleasantly, without harsh or broken sounds.
   - _The narrator's smooth phrasing held the audience through the whole chapter._
   - _A jazz saxophonist drew out one long, smooth line of melody._
6. Having an even texture that is free of lumps or graininess.
   - Simple: Having an even texture, with no lumps or bits in it.
   - _Keep stirring the sauce so it stays smooth and never separates._
   - _The pastry chef whipped the ganache until it turned glossy and smooth._
7. Suave and sophisticated in manner; effortlessly charming and self-assured.
   - Simple: Charming and confident in a relaxed, polished way.
   - _The salesman was so smooth that customers barely noticed the price._
   - _She handled the hostile interview with smooth composure._
8. Lacking projections, indentations, or serrations along an edge or surface.
   - Simple: Having an edge or surface with no bumps, points, or teeth.
   - _Botanists noted the plant's smooth leaf margins, with no teeth at all._
   - _The coin's smooth rim distinguished it from the milled coins of the era._
9. Calm and placid; free of disturbance or agitation.
   - Simple: Calm and still, without waves or rough movement.
   - _The harbor stayed smooth long after the storm had passed out to sea._
   - _Under a windless sky, the bay lay perfectly smooth._
10. Having a pleasantly rounded flavor that is neither harsh nor astringent.
   - Simple: Having a soft, pleasant taste that is not sharp or bitter.
   - _Aging in oak gives the wine a smooth, mellow finish._
   - _The blend tasted smooth, with none of the bite cheaper coffees have._
11. Continuing as one unbroken whole, without breaks or abrupt interruptions.
   - Simple: Continuing in one piece, without breaks or sudden jumps.
   - _The road swept around the hill in one long, smooth curve._
   - _The gymnast linked the elements into a single smooth sequence._
12. Natural and unconstrained in manner or movement; free of stiffness.
   - Simple: Easy and natural, without feeling forced or stiff.
   - _The actor's smooth, unforced delivery made the lines sound spontaneous._
   - _She shifted between languages with a smooth, easy fluency._
14. Of muscle tissue, lacking striations and operating involuntarily.
   - Simple: Describing a kind of muscle that works on its own, without you controlling it.
   - _Smooth muscle in the gut moves food along without conscious effort._
   - _Blood vessels rely on smooth muscle to widen and narrow._
16. Suave and persuasive in manner, often in a way that feels glib or insincere.
   - Simple: Charming and confident in a way that seems false or too practiced.
   - _Her smooth reassurances did little to calm the worried investors._
   - _He was far too smooth a talker to be believed._
20. Of a function, having derivatives of all orders at every point in its domain.
   - Simple: In math, a curve or function that has no sharp corners or breaks anywhere.
   - _A smooth function can be differentiated again and again without limit._
   - _Physicists assume the field is smooth so its higher derivatives all exist._
22. Of a sound, produced without marked aspiration, in Greek, taking the smooth breathing rather than the rough.
   - Simple: In old Greek, a sound made without a puff of breath before it.
   - _A smooth breathing over the initial vowel signals the absence of an h-sound._
   - _Editors restored the smooth mark that earlier scribes had omitted._
23. Of an integer, factoring completely into small prime numbers.
   - Simple: In math, a whole number that splits only into small prime factors.
   - _A number is smooth when all its prime factors are small._
   - _Factoring algorithms run fastest on smooth integers._

## Verb

3. To make a surface even and free of roughness or irregularities.
   - Simple: To make something flat and even, with no bumps or rough parts.
   - _Workers smooth the wet concrete before it dries._
   - _She smoothed the bedsheet until no wrinkles remained._
4. To make a process straightforward or free of obstacles.
   - Simple: To make something easier to do or get through.
   - _Mediators worked hard to smooth the tense negotiations between the two sides._
   - _Her experience smoothed the company's transition to new software._
13. To calm a person or ease an unpleasant feeling.
   - Simple: To make someone calmer or to ease a bad feeling.
   - _Nurses try to smooth patients' anxieties before surgery._
   - _A reassuring announcement smoothed the crowd's panic._
15. To press or flatten something into a particular shape by applying pressure.
   - Simple: To press something flat or into a shape with force.
   - _Potters smooth the clay against the wheel to shape each bowl._
   - _The blacksmith smoothed the heated metal into a flat sheet._
21. To process data so the meaningful patterns stand out while random noise is removed.
   - Simple: To clean up data by keeping the main pattern and removing random noise.
   - _Statisticians smooth noisy measurements before plotting the seasonal trend._
   - _The algorithm smoothed the image, softening grain without blurring edges._
26. To stroke something, especially the fur of an animal, with the flat of the hand. *(dialectal, West Country)*
   - Simple: To gently rub or pet an animal's fur with your hand.
   - _He liked to smooth the old dog's ears while reading._
   - _She smoothed the horse's neck to calm it before the ride._

## Adverb

17. Evenly and without difficulty or interruption.
   - Simple: In an even, easy way, without bumps or trouble.
   - _The car handles smooth on the open highway._
   - _The plan went smooth from start to finish._

## Noun

18. Anything even or untroubled, especially a stretch or phase that proceeds easily.
   - Simple: An easy, even part of something, without trouble or rough spots.
   - _A seasoned manager learns to take the rough with the smooth._
   - _After miles of broken pavement, the cyclists reached a welcome smooth._
19. An instance of smoothing; a single stroke or pass that flattens or evens a surface.
   - Simple: An act of making something flat or even with a quick stroke or press.
   - _With a quick smooth of her skirt, she stood to greet them._
   - _He gave the bedsheet a final smooth and left the room._
24. The result produced by a smoothing procedure: a cleaned estimate of the underlying pattern in data.
   - Simple: The cleaned-up result you get after removing noise from data.
   - _The analyst overlaid the smooth on the scatter of original points._
   - _Each smooth captured the seasonal cycle more clearly than the raw series._
25. A domestic animal, especially a dog or cat, bred with a short, sleek coat.
   - Simple: A pet, such as a dog or cat, that has short, flat fur.
   - _Among the litter, only one smooth had the short, glossy coat._
   - _She prefers a smooth because the fur needs little grooming._
27. A member of a 1970s British youth movement that favored neat, fashionable dress in reaction against hippie style.
   - Simple: In 1970s Britain, a young person in a neat-dressing group that rejected hippie style.
   - _Every smooth on the street wore pressed slacks and a clean shirt._
   - _The smooths looked down on the scruffy crowd at the festival._

## Origin

From Middle English smothe (also smethe), from Old English smēþe and smōþ, both from Proto-West Germanic *smanþī, of unknown origin. It is related to Scots smuith, Saterland Frisian smoud, Low German smood, and Dutch smeuïg, all meaning 'smooth'.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/smooth (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).