Definify.com

Webster 1913 Edition


Smooth

Smooth

(smoōth)
,
Adj.
[
Com
par.
Smoother
(smoōth′ẽr)
;
sup
erl.
Smoothest
.]
[OE.
smothe
,
smethe
, AS.
smēðe
,
smœðe
, where ē, œ, come from an older ō; cf. LG.
smöde
,
smöe
,
smödig
; of uncertain origin.]
1.
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.
The outlines must be
smooth
, imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities.
Dryden.
2.
Evenly spread or arranged; sleek;
as,
smooth
hair
.
3.
Gently flowing; moving equably; not ruffled or obstructed;
as, a
smooth
stream
.
4.
Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; voluble; even; fluent.
The only
smooth
poet of those times.
Milton.
Waller was
smooth
; but Dryden taught to join
The varying verse, the full-resounding line.
Pope.
When sage Minerva rose,
From her sweet lips
smooth
elocution flows.
Gay.
5.
Bland; mild; smoothing; fattering.
This
smooth
discourse and mild behavior oft
Conceal a traitor.
Addison.
6.
(Mech. & Physics)
Causing no resistance to a body sliding along its surface; frictionless.
Smooth is often used in the formation of self-explaining compounds; as, smooth-bodied, smooth-browed, smooth-combed, smooth-faced, smooth-finished, smooth-gliding, smooth-grained, smooth-leaved, smooth-sliding, smooth-speaking, smooth-woven, and the like.
Syn. – Even; plain; level; flat; polished; glossy; sleek; soft; bland; mild; soothing; voluble; flattering; adulatory; deceptive.

Smooth

,
adv.
Smoothly.
Chaucer.
Smooth
runs the water where the brook is deep.
Shakespeare

Smooth

,
Noun.
1.
The act of making smooth; a stroke which smooths.
Thackeray.
2.
That which is smooth; the smooth part of anything.
“The smooth of his neck.”
Gen. xxvii. 16.

Smooth

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Smoothed
(smoōthd)
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Smoothing
.]
[OE.
smothen
,
smethen
, AS.
smēðian
; cf. LG.
smöden
. See
Smooth
,
Adj.
]
To make smooth; to make even on the surface by any means;
as, to
smooth
a board with a plane; to
smooth
cloth with an iron.
Specifically: –
(a)
To free from obstruction; to make easy.
Thou, Abelard! the last sad office pay,
And
smooth
my passage to the realms of day.
Pope.
(b)
To free from harshness; to make flowing.
In their motions harmony divine
So
smooths
her charming tones that God’s own ear
Listens delighted.
Milton.
(c)
To palliate; to gloze;
as, to
smooth
over a fault
.
(d)
To give a smooth or calm appearance to.
Each perturbation
smoothed
with outward calm.
Milton.
(e)
To ease; to regulate.
Dryden.

Smooth

,
Verb.
I.
To flatter; to use blandishment.
Because I can not flatter and speak fair,
Smile in men's faces,
smooth
, deceive and cog.
Shakespeare

Webster 1828 Edition


Smooth

SMOOTH

,
Adj.
[L. mitis.]
1.
Having an even surface, or a surface so even that no roughness or points are perceptible to the touch; not rough; as smooth glass; smooth porcelain. The out lines must be smooth, imperceptible to the touch.
2.
To free from obstruction; to make easy. Thou, Abelard, the last sad office pay, And smooth my passage to the realms of day.
3.
To free from harshness; to make flowing. In their motions harmony divine so smooths her charming tones.'
4.
To palliate; to soften; as, to smooth a fault.
5.
To calm; to mollify; to allay. Each perturbation smooth'd with outward calm.
6.
To ease. The difficulty smoothed.
7.
To flatter; to soften with blandishments. Because I cannot flatter and look fair, smile in men's faces, smooth, deceive and coy.

Definition 2024


smooth

smooth

English

Alternative forms

Adjective

smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)

  1. Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.
    • John Dryden (1631-1700)
      The outlines must be smooth, imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities.
    • 1907, Robert W[illiam] Chambers, “chapter IX”, in The Younger Set (Project Gutenberg; EBook #14852), New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt Company, published 1 February 2005 (Project Gutenberg version), OCLC 4241346:
      “A tight little craft,” was Austin’s invariable comment on the matron; and she looked it, always trim and trig and smooth of surface like a converted yacht cleared for action. ¶ Near her wandered her husband, orientally bland, invariably affable, [].
    • 2005, Lesley Brown, Sophist, translation of original by Plato:
      Teaching that’s done by talking seems to have one rough path and another part which is smoother.
  2. Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.
    We hope for a smooth transition to the new system.
    • 2011, Phil McNulty, Euro 2012: Montenegro 2-2 England:
      England's path to Poland and Ukraine next summer looked to be a smooth one as goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent gave them a comfortable lead after 31 minutes.
  3. Bland; glib.
  4. Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.
    • John Milton (1608-1674)
      the only smooth poet of those times
    • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
      Waller was smooth; but Dryden taught to join / The varying verse, the full-resounding line.
    • John Gay (1685-1732)
      When sage Minerva rose, / From her sweet lips smooth elocution flows.
  5. (of a person) Suave; sophisticated.
    • 2003, T. Lewis Humphrey, The Price of Love, ISBN 0595272606, page 279:
      He was so smooth and handsome. He knew just what to say and when to say it.
  6. (of an action) Natural; unconstrained.
    • 2006, Mary Kay Moskal and Camille Blachowicz, Reading for Fluency, ISBN 1593852649, page 3:
      In order for a reading to be smooth and effortless, readers must be able to recognize and read words accurately, automatically, and quickly.
  7. (of a motion) Unbroken.
  8. (chiefly of water) Placid, calm.
  9. (of an edge) Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.
  10. (of food or drink) Not grainy; having an even texture.
    • 1997, Lou Seibert Pappas, Sorbets and Ice Creams, ISBN 0811815730, page 19:
      A compact and stylish design, it produces 1 generous quart of excellent, smooth ice cream in 20 to 25 minutes.
  11. (of a beverage) Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.
    • 2002, Candace Irvin, For His Eyes Only, ISBN 0373079362, page 9:
      The coffee was smooth, so smooth she took another sip.
  12. (mathematics, of a function) Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.
  13. (mathematics, of a number) That factors completely into small prime numbers.
  14. (linguistics, classical studies, of a vowel) Lacking marked aspiration.
  15. (of muscles, medicine) Involuntary and non-striated.

Synonyms

  • (having a texture lacking friction): even

Antonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Adverb

smooth (comparative smoother, superlative smoothest)

  1. Smoothly.
    • Shakespeare
      Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.

Noun

smooth (plural smooths)

  1. Something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily.
    • Bible, Genesis xxvii. 16
      The smooth of his neck.
    • 1860, Anne Manning, The Day of Small Things, page 81:
      Things are often equalized by roughs and smooths being set against one another.
  2. A smoothing action.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Thackeray to this entry?)
    • 2006, Julienne Van Loon, Road Story, ISBN 1741146216, page 12:
      She brushes down her hair with a little bit of spit and a smooth of her hand and opens the bright green door, walking a few metres, squinting.
  3. A domestic animal having a smooth coat.
    • 1916, William Ernest Castle and Sewall Wright, Studies of Inheritance in Guinea-pigs and Rats, page 104:
      In the 4-toe stock there is a wide gap between the lowest rough and the smooths which come from the same parents.
  4. A member of an anti-hippie fashion movement in 1970s Britain.
    • 1999, Peter Childs and Mike Storry, Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture, ISBN 0806991356, page 188:
      By the early 1970s, skinhead culture began to mutate into the variant ‘white ethnic’ styles of the suedeheads and smooths.
  5. (statistics) The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.
    • 1990, Wolfgang Härdle, Applied Nonparametric Regression, ISBN 0521429501, page 17:
      A smooth of the potato data set has already been given in Figure 1.2.

Translations

Verb

smooth (third-person singular simple present smooths, present participle smoothing, simple past and past participle smoothed)

  1. To make smooth or even.
    • 1961, William Gibson, The Miracle Worker, ISBN 0573612382, page 37:
      She smooths her skirt, looking as composed and ladylike as possible.
  2. To make straightforward.
    • 2007, Beth Kohn, Lonely Planet Venezuela (page 379)
      Caracas can be a tough place but the tremendously good-natured caraqueños smoothed my passage every step of the way.
  3. (statistics, image processing, digital audio) To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.
    • 1999, Murray R. Spiegel and Larry J. Stephens, Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Statistics, ISBN 0070602816, page 457:
      [] the 7-month moving averages provide better smoothing of the data in this case than do the 3-month moving averages.

Derived terms

Translations

See also

Anagrams