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).