as in sophisticated
having or showing very polished and worldly manners
a gentlemanly and urbane host of elegant dinner parties
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of urbane
An urbane middle-aged couple was summoned to the bar for prime seats just as the man was pulling up a BBC video about barnacle geese, a species that nests on high cliffs and whose flightless newborns fling themselves hundreds of feet to reunite with their grazing parents.
—
Hilton Als, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
It’s based on writer-director-star Alan Alda’s 1981 film of the same name—an urbane box-office hit that has since been overshadowed by quintessentially ’80s rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally.
—Judy Berman, Time, 1 May 2025
While the town prided itself as the most urbane, sophisticated place between St. Louis and San Francisco, drunkenness, gambling and debauchery, typical of any frontier mining camp, were the hallmarks of its nightlife.
—Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Oliveira’s father was a wealthy industrialist, and a view from the old house’s perspective invokes the comforts that his family’s prosperity afforded, and, with these, the inner vistas, the aesthetic initiation that opened up to him in his urbane youth.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for urbane
Hilton Als, New Yorker, 16 May 2025
It’s based on writer-director-star Alan Alda’s 1981 film of the same name—an urbane box-office hit that has since been overshadowed by quintessentially ’80s rom-coms like When Harry Met Sally.
—Judy Berman, Time, 1 May 2025
While the town prided itself as the most urbane, sophisticated place between St. Louis and San Francisco, drunkenness, gambling and debauchery, typical of any frontier mining camp, were the hallmarks of its nightlife.
—Richard Grant, Smithsonian Magazine, 31 Mar. 2025
Oliveira’s father was a wealthy industrialist, and a view from the old house’s perspective invokes the comforts that his family’s prosperity afforded, and, with these, the inner vistas, the aesthetic initiation that opened up to him in his urbane youth.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 26 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for urbane
Recent Examples of Synonyms for urbane
Adjective
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Those on the other side of the equation—the fraudsters—are sophisticated actors and are willing to dedicate time and money to see a scam through.—
Kelly Phillips Erb,
Forbes.com,
15 Aug. 2025
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Nearly three decades later, Daft Punk arguably upped the ante with its sophisticated synthesizer opus for the franchise’s second film, 2010’s Tron: Legacy, which peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard 200.—
Joe Lynch,
Billboard,
15 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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But what civilized nation, confronted with hungry children, would not move to relieve that suffering?—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
3 Aug. 2025
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The idea that a civilized nation must set aside a weapon that might help to end a war, especially against a fanatical enemy that shows few signs of moving toward a normal sort of surrender, is one that most Americans fighting World War II would have understandably rejected.—
Ross Douthat,
Mercury News,
31 July 2025
Adjective
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Only the graceful styling and the classic neon sign gives any indication the motel was built in 1953.—
Roger Naylor,
AZCentral.com,
14 Aug. 2025
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Her community fastly feels the sharp absence of her graceful, essential labor and employs matriarch Ana (María Magdalena Sanizo) to coax her back home.—
Holly Jones,
Variety,
13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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The prodigious musician played cascading melodies on the keyboard and dropped a saxophone solo in between working the stage and the crowd with his suave dance moves.—
Althea Legaspi,
Rolling Stone,
3 Aug. 2025
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In Norman Jewison's original 1968 version of the film, Faye Dunaway portrayed an investigator attempting to link the suave millionaire Thomas Crown (Steve McQueen) to a major bank robbery, only to become romantically involved with the suspect.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
19 July 2025
Adjective
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In almost all respects, Masako—true to her breeding—was the very model of a modest and gracious ojōsan.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Aug. 2025
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While people are generally gracious about missteps, recent surges in tourist numbers are starting to strain that vaunted hospitality.—
Jessica Kozuka,
Travel + Leisure,
2 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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Approximation of the smooth, unblinking surface of polished stone or metal.—
Emily Witt,
New Yorker,
13 Aug. 2025
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This year, the smooth, rounded, metallic gem is the third-largest diamond found so far, the park said.—
Saleen Martin,
USA Today,
13 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Urbane.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/urbane. Accessed 21 Aug. 2025.
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