suave

[swahv]

adjective

suaver, suavest 

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

   Synonyms: worldly, sophisticated

suave

/ ˈswɑːvɪtɪ, swɑːv /

adjective

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

Other Word Forms

• suavely adverb
• suaveness noun
• suavity 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

In addition, Mr. Denton’s delivery ranges from pugnacious to hostile and in contrast to all the suave vampires around him, Guy is a consistently unpleasant human.

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In Japan, the ruling Liberal Democratic Party had the option of choosing a suave political moderate in Shinjiro Koizumi to lead it into the next election.

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In Myers’ music, which he writes mostly himself, even the drinking songs feel pretty suave; he’s always using his dreamy eyes to beam a gentlemanly sincerity.

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Fast forward 2½ decades, and “The Waterfront” features a suave, queer character named Shawn who gets a job as a bartender at the Buckleys’ seafood restaurant.

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Rock-star conspicuous in a brown leather bomber jacket, Damiano David struts into a hotel bar in downtown Los Angeles, finds a table near the back and orders an orange juice in his suave Italian accent.

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Related Words

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