cosmopolitan
Americanadjective
-
free from local, provincial, or national ideas, prejudices, or attachments; at home all over the world.
- Synonyms:
- worldly, urbane, sophisticated
- Antonyms:
- parochial, provincial
-
of or characteristic of a cosmopolite.
-
belonging to all the world; not limited to just one part of the world.
-
Botany, Zoology. widely distributed over the globe.
noun
-
a person who is free from local, provincial, or national bias or attachment; citizen of the world; cosmopolite.
-
a cocktail made with vodka, cranberry juice, an orange-flavored liqueur, and lime juice.
noun
adjective
-
having interest in or familiar with many parts of the world
-
sophisticated or urbane
-
composed of people or elements from all parts of the world or from many different spheres
-
(of plants or animals) widely distributed
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
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.
Vocabulary lists containing cosmopolitan
Elements of the Universe: Cosm, Cosmo ("Universe")
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Born a Crime
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"Marriage is a Private Affair" by Chinua Achebe
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Now the dream has turned into a nightmare for many in the cosmopolitan oasis who have given their lives and fortunes to foster "human unity in diversity" and "the transformation of consciousness".
From Barron's • Jun. 25, 2026
Amid a cosmopolitan circle of teachers and students, he experimented with abstract expressionism, then in vogue, but didn’t take to it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
That appears to be what drew the mayor’s parents, cosmopolitan and prosperous people, to the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 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
The king of Mutal, the biggest and most cosmopolitan city-state in the Maya world, he lived and worked in a sprawling castle a few hundred yards away from the great temples at the city’s heart.
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
