What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Smooth vs Slick - What's the difference?

smooth | slick |

As adjectives the difference between smooth and slick

is that smooth is having a texture that lacks friction. Not rough while slick is slippery due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.

As nouns the difference between smooth and slick

is that smooth is something that is smooth, or that goes smoothly and easily while slick is a covering of liquid, particularly oil.

As verbs the difference between smooth and slick

is that smooth is to make smooth or even while slick is to make slick.

As an adverb smooth

is smoothly.

As a proper noun Slick is

a term of address, generally applied to males, possibly including strangers, implying that the person addressed is slick in the sense of "sophisticated", but often used sarcastically.

smooth

English

(wikipedia smooth)

Alternative forms

* (l) (dialectal) * (verb) smoothe

Adjective

(er)
  • 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.
  • *
  • *:“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,.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2005, author=Lesley Brown, title=Sophist, extra=, by=(Plato)
  • , passage=Teaching that’s done by talking seems to have one rough path and another part which is smoother .}}
  • Without difficulty, problems, or unexpected consequences or incidents.
  • :
  • * 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.
  • Bland; glib.
  • *(Joseph Addison) (1672–1719)
  • *:This smooth discourse and mild behavior oft / Conceal a traitor.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1912, author=(Gustavus Myers), title= History of the Supreme Court of the United States, page=133
  • , passage=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.}}
  • 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.
  • (lb) Suave; sophisticated.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2003, author=T. Lewis Humphrey, isbn=0595272606, title= The Price of Love, page=279
  • , passage=He was so smooth and handsome. He knew just what to say and when to say it.}}
  • (lb) Natural; unconstrained.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2006, author=Mary Kay Moskal and Camille Blachowicz, title= Reading for Fluency, isbn=1593852649, page=3
  • , passage=In order for a reading to be smooth and effortless, readers must be able to recognize and read words accurately, automatically, and quickly.}}
  • (lb) Unbroken.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1927, author=United States (National Guard Bureau), title= Manual of Basic Training and Standards of Proficiency for the National Guard
  • , page=181 , passage=Demonstrate first by the numbers and then as one smooth movement.}}
  • Placid, calm.
  • *, title= An American Cruiser in the East, page=47
  • , passage=As we worked to the southward, we picked up fair weather, and enjoyed smooth seas and pleasant skies.}}
  • (lb) Lacking projections or indentations; not serrated.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1994, author=Robert E. Swanson, isbn=0801845564, title= A Field Guide to the Trees and Shrubs of the Southern Appalachians, page=8
  • , passage=A leaf having a smooth margin, without teeth or indentations of any kind, is called entire.}}
  • *{{quote-book, year=1997, author=Christopher Dickey, isbn=0684842009, title= Innocent Blood: A Novel, page=91
  • , passage=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.}}
  • (lb) Not grainy; having an even texture.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1997, author=Lou Seibert Pappas, isbn=0811815730, title= Sorbets and Ice Creams, page=19
  • , passage=A compact and stylish design, it produces 1 generous quart of excellent, smooth ice cream in 20 to 25 minutes.}}
  • (lb) Having a pleasantly rounded flavor; neither rough nor astringent.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2002, author=Candace Irvin, isbn=0373079362, title= For His Eyes Only, page=9
  • , passage=The coffee was smooth , so smooth she took another sip.}}
  • Having derivatives of all finite orders at all points within the function’s domain.
  • *{{quote-book, year=2003, author=Eric W. Weisstein, isbn=1584883472, title= CRC Concise Encyclopedia of Mathematics, page=419
  • , passage=Any ANALYTIC FUNCTION is smooth . But a smooth function is not necessarily analytic.}}
  • Lacking marked aspiration.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1830, author=Benjamin Franklin Fisk, title= A Grammar of the Greek Language, page=5
  • , passage=

    Synonyms

    * even

    Antonyms

    * rough * uneven * bumpy

    Derived terms

    * smooth breathing * smooth collie * smooth jazz * smooth move * smooth muscle * smooth operator * smooth sailing * smoothen * smoothie * smoothly * smoothness

    Adverb

    (er)
  • Smoothly.
  • * Shakespeare
  • Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • Something that is , or that goes smoothly and easily.
  • * Bible, Genesis xxvii. 16
  • The smooth of his neck.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1860, author=Anne Manning, title=The Day of Small Things citation
  • , passage=Things are often equalized by roughs and smooths being set against one another.}}
  • A smoothing action.
  • (Thackeray)
  • * {{quote-book, year=2006, author=Julienne Van Loon, title=Road Story, isbn=1741146216 citation
  • , passage=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.}}
  • A domestic animal having a smooth coat.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1916, author=William Ernest Castle and Sewall Wright, title=Studies of Inheritance in Guinea-pigs and Rats citation
  • , passage=In the 4-toe stock there is a wide gap between the lowest rough and the smooths which come from the same parents.}}
  • A member of an anti-hippie fashion movement in 1970s Britain.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1999, author=Peter Childs and Mike Storry, title=Encyclopedia of Contemporary British Culture, isbn=0806991356 citation
  • , passage=By the early 1970s, skinhead culture began to mutate into the variant ‘white ethnic’ styles of the suedeheads and smooths .}}
  • (statistics) The analysis obtained through a smoothing procedure.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1990, author=Wolfgang Härdle, title=Applied Nonparametric Regression, isbn=0521429501 citation
  • , passage=A smooth of the potato data set has already been given in Figure 1.2.}}

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make smooth or even.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1961, author=William Gibson, title=The Miracle Worker, isbn=0573612382 citation
  • , passage=She smooths her skirt, looking as composed and ladylike as possible.}}
  • 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.
  • (statistics, image processing, digital audio) To capture important patterns in the data, while leaving out noise.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1999, author=Murray R. Spiegel and Larry J. Stephens, title=Schaum’s Outline of Theory and Problems of Statistics, isbn=0070602816 citation
  • , passage=

    Derived terms

    * smooth down * smooth endoplasmic reticulum * smoother * smooth hound * smoothing circuit * smoothing consumption * smoothing press * smooth out * smooth over * smooth-spoken * smooth-tongued

    See also

    * (smoothing)

    Anagrams

    * (l)

    slick

    English

    Adjective

    (er)
  • Slippery due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.
  • This rain is making the roads slick .
    The top coating of lacquer gives this finish a slick look.
  • Appearing expensive or sophisticated.
  • They read all kinds of slick magazines.
  • Superficially convincing but actually untrustworthy.
  • That new sales rep is slick . Be sure to read the fine print before you buy anything.
  • * 2014 , Ian Black, " Courts kept busy as Jordan works to crush support for Isis", The Guardian , 27 November 2014:
  • The threat the most radical of them pose is evidently far greater at home than abroad: in one characteristically slick and chilling Isis video – entitled “a message to the Jordanian tyrant” – a smiling, long-haired young man in black pats the explosive belt round his waist as he burns his passport and his fellow fighters praise the memory of Zarqawi, who was killed in Iraq in 2006.
  • Clever, making an apparently hard task easy; often used sarcastically.
  • Our new process for extracting needles from haystacks is extremely slick .
    That was a slick move, locking your keys in the car.
  • Extraordinarily great or special.
  • That is one slick bicycle: it has all sorts of features!
  • sleek; smooth
  • * Chapman
  • Both slick and dainty.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A covering of liquid, particularly oil.
  • Careful in turn three — there's an oil slick on the road.
    The oil slick has now spread to cover the entire bay, critically endangering the sea life.
  • Someone who is clever and untrustworthy.
  • A tool used to make something smooth or even.
  • (sports, automotive) A tire with a smooth surface instead of a tread pattern, often used in auto racing.
  • You'll go much faster if you put on slicks .
  • A helicopter.
  • (printing) A camera-ready image to be used by a printer. The "slick" is photographed to produce a negative image which is then used to burn a positive offset plate or other printing device.
  • The project was delayed because the slick had not been delivered to the printer.
  • A wide paring chisel used in joinery.
  • Synonyms

    * (tyre) slick tire, slick tyre

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To make slick
  • The surface had been slicked .
  • * {{quote-news,
  • year=2009, date=January 14, author=Melissa Clark, title=Green, Gold and Pink: Fast, Easy and Delicious, url=http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/14/dining/14appe.html, work=New York Times, passage=So I slicked the broccoli with oil and seasonings and set it to roast.}}

    Derived terms

    * slicker * slicken * slick back

    Anagrams

    *