Meaning & use
cosmopolitan
Last updated
Meanings
adjectivecomparableapproving
Having wide experience of other countries and cultures, and feeling at ease among people of many backgrounds.
Grammar: Can describe people or their outlook: a cosmopolitan traveler, a more cosmopolitan view.
Patterns
- a cosmopolitan person
- cosmopolitan outlook
Having lived in five countries, she has a very cosmopolitan outlook.
He was a cosmopolitan man who ordered dinner in three languages.
The conference drew a cosmopolitan crowd of researchers and artists.
adjectivebefore a noun
Made up of people, foods or influences from many different parts of the world.
Grammar: Usually describes a place or atmosphere: a cosmopolitan city, a cosmopolitan neighborhood.
Patterns
- a cosmopolitan city
- cosmopolitan atmosphere
London is one of the most cosmopolitan cities in Europe.
The market has a cosmopolitan feel, with stalls selling food from every continent.
Our school is wonderfully cosmopolitan, with students from over sixty nations.
adjectivenot comparablebiologytechnical
Found in most parts of the world, used about a plant or animal species.
Grammar: Used mainly in biology: a cosmopolitan species.
Patterns
- a cosmopolitan species
The house sparrow is a cosmopolitan bird found on almost every continent.
Some weeds are cosmopolitan and grow in nearly every climate.
Biologists call the fungus cosmopolitan because it occurs worldwide.
Common combinations
- cosmopolitan city
- Toronto is a cosmopolitan city with hundreds of languages spoken.
- cosmopolitan outlook
- Years of study abroad gave her a cosmopolitan outlook.
- cosmopolitan flair
- The cafe has a cosmopolitan flair that attracts visitors.
- cosmopolitan population
- The port has always had a cosmopolitan population.
- cosmopolitan atmosphere
- We loved the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the harbor district.
Synonyms and how they differ
- worldly
- Worldly suggests experience and sophistication in general life, not necessarily contact with many cultures.
- international
- International simply refers to more than one nation, while cosmopolitan implies ease with and enjoyment of mixed cultures.
- multicultural
- Multicultural describes a society containing several cultures, but cosmopolitan can also describe a person's sophisticated, widely traveled attitude.
Opposites
Word family
- cosmopolitanism noun
- the belief that people belong to one world community
- cosmopolite noun
- a person at home in many parts of the world
- cosmopolis noun
- a large city with people from many nations
Commonly confused: cosmopolitan or metropolitan?
cosmopolitan vs metropolitan
Metropolitan means relating to a large city or its surroundings, while cosmopolitan is about international mixing and outlook.
Practice
After living and working on four continents, Marta developed a ____ view of life and felt at home anywhere.
Choose one answer.
Cosmopolitan means at ease with many cultures, which fits her experience. Provincial and parochial mean narrow and local, the opposite of the meaning needed.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “cosmopolitan”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.