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

• cosmopolitans
  plural

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

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

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• cosmopolitans
  plural

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

See Examples For:

cosmopolitan cosmopolitans

He develops a reputation for aggression, seemingly fighting a war against everyone on the asphalt that spins out when he attempts to bully a cosmopolitan French driver into submission.

From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2026

But her perspective is internet-era cosmopolitan; young but preternaturally wise about self-reliance.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026

Ralf Rangnick's team will bring a touch of cosmopolitan sophistication to this summer's tournament in a marbled away shirt that's been designed as a nod to the country's cafe culture.

From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026

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

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

We’re a diverse people but still a people, not a random aggregation of cosmopolitans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

They also got together over cosmopolitans in 2005, when Pacheco interviewed her at length; his notes shaped McNally’s book for her solo Broadway show, “Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life.”

From New York Times ● Apr. 19, 2023

In nearly every episode the ladies gather at a restaurant to dissect whatever issues are bedeviling them that week, a device "Sex and the City" employed with enough success to make brunch and cosmopolitans fashionable.

From Salon ● Feb. 5, 2022

The song resonated not just among jazz-loving cosmopolitans, but across the country.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2021

Through The Mecca I saw that we were, in our own segregated body politic, cosmopolitans.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

Related Words

• cultured
• metropolitan
• sophisticated
• urbane
• worldly