smooth over
Third Person
smooths over
Present Participle
smoothing over
Past Tense
smoothed over
Past Participle
smoothed over
1
to make a situation or relationship less tense by calming emotions, resolving conflicts, etc.
- They decided to smooth over the conflict by quickly changing the topic.
- The manager attempted to smooth over the mistake by offering a quick apology.
- The public relations team worked hard to smooth the negative publicity over with a carefully crafted statement.
- To avoid further complications, they decided to smooth the matter over swiftly and without extensive discussion.
- She hoped to smooth over the misunderstanding by addressing it directly with a sincere conversation.
Synonyms: