frequently_asked_questions_files/Oxford Thesaurus.pdf

pate shone in the moonlight. 5 soothing, mellow, pleasant,
bland, mild, soft: That is a very smooth whisky indeed. 6
suave, slick, slippery, unctuous, silken, silky, glib, urbane,
soign‚(e), agreeable, winning, plausible, facile, nonchalant,
courtly, eloquent, honey-tongued, smooth-spoken, persuasive,
oily, slimy, syrupy, Colloq chiefly Brit smarmy: With his quick
understanding and smooth manner, Edward was a very successful
salesman. 7 sweet, dulcet, pear-shaped, mellow, well-modulated,
silver-tongued: The smooth tones of his serenade wafted through
the evening air. 8 slick, scheming, conniving, crafty, shrewd,
cunning, tricky, shifty, sly, foxy, Machiavellian,
sophistic(al), plausible, credible, believable, Colloq cagey:
Robinson came up with a very smooth plan to bilk wealthy widows
out of their money.
--v. 9 Often, smooth out or away. flatten, even, level, iron,
press, mangle, calender: Please smooth the wrinkles out of this
shirt so that I can wear it tonight. 10 prepare, lay, pave,
ease, ready, clear, open, prime, lubricate, facilitate: What is
your policy for smoothing the way for employees joining the
firm? 11 sand, plane, polish, buff, burnish: The wood is
smoothed to a glassy finish before being used for the cabinets.
12 Often, smooth over. ameliorate, assuage, allay, calm, gloss
over, minimize, mitigate, lessen, soothe, reduce, temper,
mollify, smoothen, soften, palliate, appease: An otherwise
uncomfortable situation was smoothed over by her quiet words.
smother v. 1 suffocate, stifle, choke, asphyxiate; throttle, strangle,
snuff (out), kill: He was accused of trying to smother his wife
with a pillow. 2 be suffocated or stifled or asphyxiated, be
choked or strangled, be killed: The infant apparently smothered
in the blanket. 3 overwhelm, overcome, blanket, inundate,
cover, shower; envelop, wrap, enshroud, surround: The children
crowded round and smothered her with kisses. The banquet table
was smothered in white roses. 4 repress, subdue, suppress,
conceal, hide, keep or hold back, cover up, mask, choke back or
down, check; stifle, muffle, blanket, blank out: He managed to
smother his grief and put on a brave face. Our whispers were
smothered by the noise of the hi-fi. 5 extinguish, put out,
snuff out: The foam from the fire extinguisher smothered the
blaze in a few moments.
smoulder v. burn; seethe, simmer, chafe, rage, fume, foam, boil, stew,