suave

[ swahv ]

adjective

, suav·er, suav·est.

1. (of persons or their manner, speech, etc.) smoothly agreeable or polite; agreeably or blandly urbane.

   Synonyms: worldly, sophisticated

suave

/ swɑːv; ˈswɑːvɪtɪ /

adjective

1. (esp of a man) displaying smoothness and sophistication in manner or attitude; urbane

Derived Forms

• suavity, noun
• ˈsuavely, adverb

Other Words From

• suavely adverb
• suaveness noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of suave¹

1495–1505; < French < Latin suāvis sweet

Word History and Origins

Origin of suave¹

C16: from Latin suāvis sweet

Example Sentences

“We have undercover security,” says Vincent Zurzolo, the suave man in the blue suit in booth 2630 of New York Comic Con.

From The Daily Beast

And Nanjiani, the side-burned and suave 36-year-old, is a geek icon.

From The Daily Beast

Everyone has a theory on how Mad Men will end, and one of the most popular is that our suave, slick antihero will die.

From The Daily Beast

Joe would often appear looking suave or cool in various brightly colored situations - as cool as a man with a camel face can look.

From The Daily Beast

Steve Heidrick is a handsome, suave, elegant young man who dances beautifully, who loves to dance with me.

From The Daily Beast

But although Turner has exaggerated the ruggedness of Hindhead in his picture, the place is not at all gracious or suave.

From Project Gutenberg

He came out to Jess Morse immediately, smiling and bowing like the suave storekeeper he was.

From Project Gutenberg

But the voice of this comfortable, suave-looking missionary by no means matched his appearance.

From Project Gutenberg

Nothing can be more suave, piquant, and picturesque than the wild and primitive melodies of the songs of Scotland.

From Project Gutenberg

His eyes smiled at her, suave, deprecating, delighted eyes and recklessly observant.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• affable
• courteous
• courtly
• genial
• ingratiating
• polite
• soft-spoken
• sophisticated
• urbane
• worldly