cosmopolitan

/kɑzməˈpɑlɪtɪn/

/kɒzməˈpɒlɪtən/

Other forms: cosmopolitans; cosmopolitanly

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.

Definitions of cosmopolitan

1. adjective

   composed of people from or at home in many parts of the world; especially not provincial in attitudes or interests
   “"his cosmopolitan benevolence impartially extended to all races and to all creeds"- T.B. Macaulay”

   “the ancient and cosmopolitan societies of Syria and Egypt”

   synonyms:

   traveled, travelled

   familiar with many parts of the world

   antonyms:

   provincial

   characteristic of the provinces or their people

   bumpkinly, hick, rustic, unsophisticated

   awkwardly simple and provincial

   corn-fed

   strong and healthy but not sophisticated

   insular, parochial

   narrowly restricted in outlook or scope

   jerkwater, one-horse, pokey, poky

   small and remote and insignificant

   stay-at-home

   not given to travel
2. adjective

   of worldwide scope or applicability
   “an issue of cosmopolitan import”

   synonyms: ecumenical, general, oecumenical, universal, world-wide, worldwide

   comprehensive, overarching

   including all or everything
3. adjective

   growing or occurring in many parts of the world
   “a cosmopolitan herb”

   “cosmopolitan in distribution”

   synonyms: widely distributed

   antonyms:

   endemic

   native to or confined to a certain region
4. noun

   a sophisticated person who has traveled in many countries
   synonyms: cosmopolite

   types:

   globetrotter, world traveler

   someone who travels widely and often

   type of:

   man of the world, sophisticate

   a worldly-wise person