smooth

adj

1. Having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough.

   “The outlines must be smooth, […]imperceptible to the touch, and even, without eminence or cavities.”

   ““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,[…].”

   “Smooth and slender and naked, Mary Rittersdorf faced her husband.”

   “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.”

   “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.”

   “The path to approval has been bumpiest in Washington, where Democrats in Congress have raised concerns over Mexico’s enforcement of labor rights and environmental law — and smoothest in Mexico, where the president has described the accord as a guarantee of stability for his country’s economy.”

3. Bland; glib.

   “This smooth discourse and mild behavior oft / Conceal a traitor.”

   “This feeling, grounded on the experience of centuries of oppression, was not to be allayed by smooth explanations on the part of the advocates of the Constitution.”

4. Flowing or uttered without check, obstruction, or hesitation; not harsh; fluent.

   “the only smooth poet of those times”

   “VValler vvas ſmooth; but Dryden taught to join / The varying verſe, the full reſounding line, / The long majetſic march, and energy divine.”

   “VVhen bright Minerva roſe, / From her ſvveet Lips ſmooth Elocution flovvs, […]”

5. Suave; sophisticated.

   “He was so smooth and handsome. He knew just what to say and when to say it.”

6. Natural; unconstrained.

   “In order for a reading to be smooth and effortless, readers must be able to recognize and read words accurately, automatically, and quickly.”

7. Unbroken.

   “Demonstrate first by the numbers and then as one smooth movement.”

8. Placid, calm.

   “As we worked to the southward, we picked up fair weather, and enjoyed smooth seas and pleasant skies.”

9. Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.

   “A leaf having a smooth margin, without teeth or indentations of any kind, is called entire.”

   “Out of the handles flipped the smooth blade and the serrated blade, which was dangerously sharp, the flathead screwdrivers, the Phillips screwdriver, the can opener, the awl.”

10. Not grainy; having an even texture.

    “A compact and stylish design, it produces 1 generous quart of excellent, smooth ice cream in 20 to 25 minutes.”

11. Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.

    “The coffee was smooth, so smooth she took another sip.”

12. Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.

    “Any ANALYTIC FUNCTION is smooth. But a smooth function is not necessarily analytic.”

13. That factors completely into small prime numbers.
14. Lacking marked aspiration.

    “Οὐ becomes οὐκ before a smooth vowel, and οὐχ before an aspirate.”

15. Involuntary and non-striated.

adv

1. Smoothly.

   “smooth-running, smooth-tongued, smooth-spoken”

   “The paths true love never ran smooth(ly).”

   “Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.”

noun

1. Something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily.

   “The smooth of his neck.”

   “I think you and I will take the ups and the downs , the roughs and the smooths of this daily existence and conversation”

   “Things are often equalized by roughs and smooths being set against one another.”

2. A smoothing action.

   “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.

   “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.

   “By the early 1970s, skinhead culture began to mutate into the variant ‘white ethnic’ styles of the suedeheads and smooths.”

5. The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.

   “A smooth of the potato data set has already been given in Figure 1.2.”

verb

1. (transitive)To make smooth or even.

   “She smooths her skirt, looking as composed and ladylike as possible.”

2. (transitive)To reduce to a particular shape or form by pressure; to press, to flatten.

   “to smooth cloth with a smoothing iron”

3. (transitive)To make straightforward or easy.

   “Caracas can be a tough place but the tremendously good-natured caraqueños smoothed my passage every step of the way.”

4. (transitive)To calm or palliate.

   “to smooth a person's temper”

5. To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.

   “[…] the 7-month moving averages provide better smoothing of the data in this case than do the 3-month moving averages.”

6. (West-Country)To stroke; especially to stroke an animal's fur.

   “Can I smooth your cat?”