as in sophisticated
having a wide and refined knowledge of the world especially from personal experience
a college student who now seems conspicuously cosmopolitan after spending his junior year abroad
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in sophisticate
a person with the outlook, experience, and manners thought to be typical of big city dwellers
as someone who had lived in Paris for a year as an exchange student, she seemed very much the cosmopolitan to her old classmates
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cosmopolitan
Sarah Cahalan, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
One of the two host cities, Milan, is multicultural and cosmopolitan, and there are Islamic centers and mosques spread around the city to gather and worship.
—ABC News, 22 Feb. 2026
Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
The adjective cosmopolitan only begins to describe Sajet, who has had important life experiences on four continents.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cosmopolitan
Adjective
The community is such a favorite among New Yorkers that many who’ve tired of city life have moved here permanently—which means the town of roughly 6,000 boasts such cosmopolitan offerings as kombucha sorbet at Culture Cream and Frette linens at hotels like The Amelia.
—Sarah Cahalan, Travel + Leisure, 7 Mar. 2026
One of the two host cities, Milan, is multicultural and cosmopolitan, and there are Islamic centers and mosques spread around the city to gather and worship.
—ABC News, 22 Feb. 2026
Noun
If top-level soccer is now played by something like rootless cosmopolitans, it’s financed by billionaires who are no longer primarily European.
—Ian Buruma, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
The adjective cosmopolitan only begins to describe Sajet, who has had important life experiences on four continents.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cosmopolitan
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cosmopolitan
Adjective
-
During this time, civilization saw the emergence of more sophisticated tools, such as those made of bone, ivory, and antlers, according to Britannica.—
Michelle Del Rey,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Typically, drones navigate using a combination of sensors, cameras, controllers, a power source, and sophisticated algorithms that interpret environmental data to make decisions.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The novel was adapted into a 1965 film, with Caine in a star-making performance as Deighton’s protagonist, a sardonic working-class sophisticate with a love of gourmet food.—
Jill Lawless,
Chicago Tribune,
17 Mar. 2026
-
Heartland churchgoers, urban sophisticates, football neophytes—everyone got swept up in his will to win.—
Taylor Antrim,
Vogue,
8 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
As for the documentary, that was spurred by Scorsese's trip to Polizzi Generosa, a town where her father's ancestors are from, in the Italian metropolitan of Palermo.—
Ralphie Aversa,
USA Today,
10 Dec. 2025
-
From Atlantic beaches to Western mountains to central metropolitans, there’s a destination suited to every type of traveler.—
Tara Massouleh McCay,
Southern Living,
21 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cosmopolitan.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cosmopolitan. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
