SMOOTH


Meaning of SMOOTH in English

I. ˈsmüth adjective

( -er/-est )

Etymology: Middle English smothe, from Old English smōth; akin to Old English smēthe smooth, Old Saxon smōthi

1.

a. : having a continuously even surface : being without roughness, points, bumps, or ridges especially to the touch

smooth tabletop

smooth fabric

smooth skin

smooth lawn

smooth road

b. : being without bristles or hair

my brother is a hairy man and I am a smooth man — Gen 27:11 (Authorized Version)

c. : not rough or scabrous : not pubescent : glabrous

a smooth leaf

d.

(1) : causing no resistance to a body sliding along its surface : frictionless

(2) of a reflecting surface : having surface irregularities small compared with the wave length of the reflected radiation

e. : less rough or harsh than is characteristic of the class

smooth file

sometimes : having its points or ridges leveled by wear

smooth tire

2. : free from all that would obstruct or impede progress : easily or comfortably traveled : presenting no obstacles or difficulties

broad smooth highways

trying to make his path smoother for him

3.

a. : even and uninterrupted in flow or flight : continuously flowing or gliding : moving or proceeding without breaks, abrupt changes or transitions : not jerky, jolting, or jarring

smooth stream

smooth flow of words

car came to a smooth stop

b. : capable of easy dexterity and effortlessly controlled movement

smooth dancer

c. : avoiding or minimizing what is harsh or unpleasant or objectionable : plausibly flattering : ingratiating

deceived by the smooth talk of the salesman

smooth villain

smooth handling of an embarrassing situation

smooth explanations of suspicious conduct

4.

a. : calm and unruffled in words, manner or behavior : serene , equable

smooth disposition

b. : amiable , courteous , friendly

5. : accompanied by calm weather : free from discomfort or difficulty

smooth channel crossing

smooth sailing from here on

6.

a. : performed so that each tone within the musical phrase glides or flows into the next : legato

b. : moving by small intervals — used of the progression of voice parts in harmonized music

7. Greek grammar

a. of a vowel : sounded without the aspirate

smooth vowel

b. of a stop consonant : being voiceless, unaspirated, and lenis

8.

a. : agreeable or soothing to one's ear, palate, feelings : bland , mild

smooth tone of voice

smooth syrup

smooth wine

b. : free from lumps : having perfect blending of the elements

smooth batter

smooth salad dressing

c. : having the pungency (as of alcohol) moderated by blending of other ingredients

a smooth cocktail

9. : relatively good — used especially of a poker hand in lowball; compare rough

10. : forming smooth colonies usually made up of organisms that form no chains or filaments, show characteristic internal changes, and tend to marked increase in capsule formation and virulence — used of dissociated strains of bacteria; compare mucoid

Synonyms: see easy , level , suave

II. verb

( -ed/-ing/-s )

Etymology: Middle English smothen, from smothe, adjective, smooth

transitive verb

1. : to make smooth, level, or even on the surface : remove the surface inequalities and irregularities of

smooth soil in a flower bed

smooth the edge of a board

smooth cloth with an iron

smooth a rumpled bedsheet

2.

a. : to free from what is harsh, crude, offending, or disagreeable : refine , polish

smooth verses

sent to a school to smooth and polish his manners

b. : to make calm : soothe

3. : to minimize (as a fault, a difference) in order to allay anger or ill-will : palliate — often used with over

smoothing things over is practically a profession to mothers of families — Margaret Deland

4. : to free from obstruction or difficulty : make easy

smoothed his way with bribes

5.

a. : to remove (as wrinkles, creases) from a surface

smoothed the lines of worry away with her cool fingertips

b. : to press or rub into a flat form

nervously crumpling and smoothing out her handkerchief

c. : to remove expression from (one's face) : compose

6. : cause to lie evenly and in order : preen

took off her hat and smoothed down her hair

hen smoothing her ruffled feathers

7. : to change a broken line made up of sections of straight lines into (a curve) ; specifically : to free (a graph) from irregularities by ignoring random deviations

8. : monophthongize — used especially of the change of a vowel before a back consonant in the Anglian dialects of Old English

Anglian smoothing of ēa to ē

intransitive verb

1. obsolete : blandish , flatter

2. : to become smooth

the wind dropped and the waves smoothed down

III. adverb

Etymology: Middle English smothe, from smothe, adjective, smooth

: smoothly

smooth runs the water where the brook is deep — Shakespeare

IV. noun

( -s )

Etymology: Middle English smothe, from smothe, adjective, smooth

1.

a. : a smooth stretch (as of land) ; specifically : meadow

b. : an intermittent space of smooth water

2. : the smooth part of anything : something that is smooth

learn to take the rough with the smooth

3.

[ smooth (II) ]

: act of smoothing or state of being smooth : a stroke which smooths

give a smooth to his hair

4.

[ smooth (II) ]

: a smoothing implement

5. : the side of a tennis racket on which the binding strings form a continuous line

calling rough or smooth to decide court and service

V. adjective

of a curve : being the representation of a function with a continuous first derivative

Webster's New International English Dictionary.      Новый международный словарь английского языка Webster.