掩饰，淡化：将（分歧、问题、困难等）看起来比实际严重程度小。
化解，消除：解决（分歧、问题、困难等），使其不再存在。
smooth over // [ smoothing smoothed smoother smooths smoothest ]
动词词组 If you smooth over a problem or difficulty, you make it less serious and easier to deal with, especially by talking to the people concerned. 缓和; 减轻
...an attempt to smooth over the violent splits that have occurred.
…缓和已经发生的暴力冲突的一次努力。
The president is trying to smooth things over.
这位总统正试图把大事化小。
treat hurriedly or avoid dealing with properly
同义词： gloss over / skate over / slur over / skimp over
掩饰
Retailers who're responsive and friendly are more likely to smooth over issues than those who aren't so friendly.
反应迅速、态度友好的零售商比那些不那么友好的零售商更有可能解决问题。
I could see that he was trying to smooth over his duty for wrong judgments.
我可以看出，他是在试图掩盖他判断错误的责任。
You probably want to use an Ajax library to smooth over the browser differences.
您可能需要使用一个ajax库解决浏览器差异问题。
I wanna smooth things over.
我希望缓和一下。
国际座谈会课程节选 : 普林斯顿公开课
Mr. Obama's defenders said he appeared to be trying to smooth over a tense situation.
Could it in fact be something that helps smooth over a tough situation with a foreign country?
Mr. Obama told radio talk-show host Michael Smerconish last week that his re-election will smooth over bad feelings.