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

Although Sarah Paulson‘s Met Gala look was railed by Cosmopolitan as being “tone deaf,” her commentary on the 1% was very “almost on the nose, but not quite.”

From Salon • May 5, 2026

“These days, Mack seems totally happy being the homebody dad hanging with his kids, 3-year-old Dakota and 2-year-old Carson,” the Cosmopolitan writer noted.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 20, 2026

She was also director of editorial content at Cosmopolitan magazine and as an editor at Glamour and Maxim magazines.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 8, 2026

Charlotte said in an interview with Cosmopolitan that she brought a black jumpsuit that she wore for the final, but did not plan any shoes to go with it.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2026

“Call it no more the White City on the Lake,” wrote Sir Walter Besant, the English historian and novelist, in Cosmopolitan, “it is Dreamland.”

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• cultured
• metropolitan
• sophisticated
• urbane
• worldly