cosmopolitan

[koz-muh-pol-i-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.

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

/ ˌkɒzməˈpɒlɪtən /

noun

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

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

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of cosmopolitan¹

First recorded in 1835–45; cosmopolite + -an

Word History and Origins

Origin of cosmopolitan¹

C17: from French, ultimately from Greek kosmopolitēs, from kosmo- _cosmo- + politēs citizen

Example Sentences

These values and beliefs are inherently incompatible with multiracial democracy and a more cosmopolitan, dynamic and inclusive country.

Read more on Salon

But R360 believes its bolder innovation, featuring cosmopolitan squads of the biggest names playing in cities around the world will be good for the game and for those who back it financially.

Read more on BBC

The village was peopled with "extraordinary, eccentric, cosmopolitan people, defeated by life", some of whom would later reappear in her fiction.

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But our cosmopolitan eateries eventually created a singular “fusion,” with its own explosion into a thriving restaurant scene.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The action has left indelible scars on the social fabric of the city, which prides itself on its cosmopolitan culture.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• cultured 
• metropolitan 
• sophisticated 
• urbane 
• worldly