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cosmopolitan

[koz-muh-pol-i-tn]
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adjective
  1. free from local, provincial, or national ideas, prejudices, or attachments; at home all over the world.
  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.
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Origin of cosmopolitan

First recorded in 1835–45; cosmopolite + -an
Related formscos·mo·pol·i·tan·ism, nouncos·mo·pol·i·tan·ly, adverbnon·cos·mo·pol·i·tan, adjective, nounnon·cos·mo·pol·i·tan·ism, nounun·cos·mo·pol·i·tan, adjective

Synonyms

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1. sophisticated, urbane, worldly.

Antonyms

1. provincial, parochial.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for cosmopolitan

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • I cannot stand them, and a German cosmopolitan is the limit.

    Howards End

    E. M. Forster

  • "It's a better vein than the cosmopolitan," said Margaret, getting up.

    Howards End

    E. M. Forster

  • Life seems great because it is cosmopolitan and not provincial or local.

  • He has rooms at the Cosmopolitan, somewhere on the top floor.

    Under Western Eyes

    Joseph Conrad

  • So has it always been with chemistry, the most cosmopolitan of sciences, the most secret of arts.

British Dictionary definitions for cosmopolitan

cosmopolitan

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
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Derived Formscosmopolitanism, noun

Word Origin

C17: from French, ultimately from Greek kosmopolitēs, from kosmo- cosmo- + politēs citizen
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cosmopolitan

adj.

1844, from cosmopolite "citizen of the world" (q.v.) on model of metropolitan. The U.S. women's magazine of the same name was first published in 1886. Cosmopolitanism first recorded 1828.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
cosmopolitan in Medicine

cosmopolitan

(kŏz′mə-pŏl′ĭ-tn)
adj.
  1. Growing or occurring in many parts of the world; widely distributed.
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n.
  1. A cosmopolitan organism.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.