urbane

urbane
adjective

the urbane English professor

Syn:
suave, sophisticated, debonair, worldly, cultivated, cultured, civilized, cosmopolitan; smooth, polished, refined, self-possessed; courteous, polite, well-mannered, mannerly, civil, charming, gentlemanly, gallant
Ant:
uncouth, unsophisticated
••
urbane, cosmopolitan, genteel, sophisticated, suave
In his long career as a film star, Cary Grant was known for playing urbane, sophisticated roles. Urbane in this context suggests the social poise and polished manner of someone who is well-traveled and well-bred, while sophisticated means worldly-wise as opposed to naïve (a sophisticated young girl who had spent her childhood in Paris and London). Cosmopolitan describes someone who is at home anywhere in the world and is free from provincial attitudes (a cosmopolitan man who could charm women of all ages and nationalities), while suave suggests the gracious social behavior of urbane combined with a certain glibness or superficial politeness (she was taken in by his expensive clothes and suave manner). At one time genteel meant well-bred or refined, but nowadays it has connotations of self-consciousness or pretentiousness (too genteel to drink wine from a juice glass).

Thesaurus of popular words. 2014.

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  • Urbane — mentioned in the Bible: *Romans 16:9 **Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ, and Stachys my beloved.*Also means polite, elegant, and sophisticated in manner [Latin urbanus of the town] …   Wikipedia

  • Urbane — Ur*bane , a. [See {Urban}.] Courteous in manners; polite; refined; elegant. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • urbane — index civil (polite), sophisticated Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …   Law dictionary

  • urbane — (adj.) 1530s, of or relating to cities or towns, from M.Fr. urbain (14c.), from L. urbanus belonging to a city, also citified, elegant (see URBAN (Cf. urban)). The meaning having the manners of townspeople, courteous, refined is first attested… …   Etymology dictionary

  • urbane — *suave, smooth, diplomatic, bland, politic Analogous words: courteous, polite, courtly, *civil: poised, balanced (see STABILIZE): cultured, cultivated, refined (see corresponding nouns at CULTURE) Antonyms: rude: clownish, bucolic …   New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • urbane — [adj] civilized affable, balanced, bland, civil, cosmopolitan, courteous, cultivated, cultured, debonair, elegant, genteel, gracious, mannerly, metropolitan, obliging, poised, polished, polite, refined, smooth, sophisticated, suave, well bred,… …   New thesaurus

  • urbane — ► ADJECTIVE ▪ (especially of a man) suave, courteous, and refined. DERIVATIVES urbanely adverb. ORIGIN originally in the sense «urban»: from Latin urbanus …   English terms dictionary

  • urbane — [ʉr bān′] adj. [L urbanus: see URBAN] polite and courteous in a smooth, polished way; refined SYN. SUAVE urbanely adv. urbaneness n …   English World dictionary

  • urbane — [[t]ɜː(r)be͟ɪn[/t]] ADJ GRADED Someone who is urbane is polite and appears comfortable in social situations. She describes him as urbane and charming... In conversation, he was suave and urbane. Syn: cultured Ant: gauche Derived words: urbanity… …   English dictionary

  • urbane — urbanely, adv. urbaneness, n. /err bayn /, adj. 1. having the polish and suavity regarded as characteristic of sophisticated social life in major cities: an urbane manner. 2. reflecting elegance, sophistication, etc., esp. in expression: He… …   Universalium

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