cosmopolitan

American  

[koz-muh-pol-i-tn] / ˌkɒz məˈpɒl ɪ tn /

adjective

1. free from local, provincial, or national ideas, prejudices, or attachments; at home all over the world.

   Synonyms:

   worldly, urbane, sophisticated

   Antonyms:

   parochial, provincial

2. of or characteristic of a cosmopolite.

3. belonging to all the world; not limited to just one part of the world.

4. Botany, Zoology. widely distributed over the globe.

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noun

1. a person who is free from local, provincial, or national bias or attachment; citizen of the world; cosmopolite.

2. a cocktail made with vodka, cranberry juice, an orange-flavored liqueur, and lime juice.

cosmopolitan British  

/ ˌkɒzməˈpɒlɪtən /

noun

1. a person who has lived and travelled in many countries, esp one who is free of national prejudices

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adjective

1. having interest in or familiar with many parts of the world

2. sophisticated or urbane

3. composed of people or elements from all parts of the world or from many different spheres

4. (of plants or animals) widely distributed

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• cosmopolitanly
  adverb
• uncosmopolitan
  adjective
• noncosmopolitan
  adjective
• cosmopolitanism
  noun

Etymology

Origin of cosmopolitan

First recorded in 1835–45; cosmopolite + -an

Explanation

Your Aunt Eleanor, who's lived in six different countries and speaks four languages fluently, might be described as cosmopolitan, or comfortable and familiar with different cultures and people. People who are cosmopolitan have an air of glamour surrounding them, a sense that they've seen a lot of the world and are sophisticated and at ease with all different kinds of people. Places can also be described as cosmopolitan, meaning "diverse," or bustling with lots of people of varying nationalities. Any way you use it, cosmopolitan implies a sophistication, which might explain why both a well-known alcoholic cocktail and a famous women's magazine are both named after the word cosmopolitan.

Example Sentences

That ambition is a concern to Persian Gulf states whose cosmopolitan cities and key oil infrastructure sit just across the water from Iran.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 28, 2026

In the 19th and 20th centuries, it helped the city become a bustling metropolis, home to sizable European diasporas and a distinct cosmopolitan culture.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

Now, next to South Africa's innovative and cosmopolitan set-up, it seems to be slowing them down.

From BBC • Jan. 15, 2026

He began writing only after having had a varied cosmopolitan life, and in 2009, already in his 40s, published “In Other Rooms, Other Wonders,” a collection of loosely connected short stories.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026

For the rest of his life he was thoroughly cosmopolitan, travelling widely, living for twenty years in Weimar, and for six years near Rome, where he took holy orders.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Related Words

• cultured
• metropolitan
• sophisticated
• urbane
• worldly