suave
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of suave
1495–1505; < French < Latin suāvis sweet
Explanation
To be suave is to be smooth, polite, and a little bit cool. Men can be suave and debonair, especially the ones riding horses on the covers of romance novels. Suave is from the Latin word suavis which means "agreeable." To be suave is still to be agreeable — a suave person knows how to work the room, and you might want to appear suave and sophisticated when you meet your sweetie's parents. Although it's an old fashioned compliment, suave has morphed into something meaning a little bit cheesy.
Vocabulary lists containing suave
100 Words to Make You Sound Smart
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The Odyssey
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The Catcher in the Rye
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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.
"I just love the quicksilver delivery and suave flamboyance of Coward, it's delightful to play."
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
The suave Hernández character Domingo appeared briefly but was conked on the noggin by White, who also achieved Five-Timers status, but as a musical guest.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
While Ahmadinejad was dressed in “vintage, early 1980s” clothes, Larijani came from “the opposite end of the sartorial spectrum: suave, wearing a carefully pressed Ralph Lauren polo shirt,” Straw wrote in his memoir.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 8, 2026
That’s a reference to the overly suave serial killer in the film “American Psycho” crossed with a popular 1990s version of a male Barbie known for its pretty eyes and good hair.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2026
He was a spry, suave and very precise general who knew the circumference of the equator and always wrote “enhanced” when he meant “increased.”
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
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.
