A liquid discharge apparatus includes a holder, a pre-treatment head, a smoother, and a print head. The holder reciprocally moves while holding a recording medium. The pre-treatment head discharges a pre-treatment liquid onto a surface of the recording medium held by the holder. The smoother smooths the pre-treatment liquid, which is discharged onto the surface of the recording medium, along the surface of the recording medium by a movement of the holder. The print head discharges a printing liquid onto the surface of the recording medium with the pre-treatment liquid smoothed.