cos·mo·pol·i·tan
ˌkäz-mə-ˈpä-lə-tən 
1
: having wide international sophistication : worldly
Greater cultural diversity has led to a more cosmopolitan attitude among the town's younger generations.
2
: composed of persons, constituents, or elements from all or many parts of the world
a city with a cosmopolitan population
3
: having worldwide rather than limited or provincial scope or bearing
… his cosmopolitan benevolence, impartially extended to all races and to all creeds.—
Thomas Babington Macaulay
Thomas Babington Macaulay4
: found in most parts of the world and under varied ecological conditions
a cosmopolitan herb
1
: cosmopolite
Many cosmopolitans around the world now also share the English language …—Robert J. Shiller
Robert J. Shiller2
or less commonly cosmo
: a cocktail made of vodka, orange-flavored liqueur, lime juice, and cranberry juice
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Defining Cosmopolitan (Not the Drink)
Since cosmopolitan includes the root polit-, from the Greek word for "citizen", someone who is cosmopolitan is a "citizen of the world". She may be able to read the morning paper in Rio de Janeiro, attend a lecture in Madrid, and assist at a refugee camp in Uganda with equal ease—and maybe all in the same week. And a city or a country that is cosmopolitan has aspects and elements that come from various countries.
Synonyms
Examples of cosmopolitan in a Sentence
Adjective
Greater cultural diversity has led to a more cosmopolitan attitude among the town's younger generations.
the cosmopolitan taste of the store's customers
It's one of the country's more cosmopolitan cities.
Noun
as someone who had lived in Paris for a year as an exchange student, she seemed very much the cosmopolitan to her old classmates
Recent Examples on the Web
Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
Like Trump, Carlson appeals to his base by positioning himself as a class traitor—not a man of the people, exactly, but an apostate from the cosmopolitan élite.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
Hannah Towey, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2024
Just like globalization forced us all to become cosmopolitans (citizens of the universe) by breaking spatial boundaries, the aging of the internet compels us to become archeopolitans—citizens of an archive—by breaking down temporal boundaries.
—Carl Öhman, TIME, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cosmopolitan 
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Adjective
According to the team, this emphasizes the cosmopolitan nature of the Roman Empire.
—Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 7 Nov. 2024
Like Trump, Carlson appeals to his base by positioning himself as a class traitor—not a man of the people, exactly, but an apostate from the cosmopolitan élite.
—Andrew Marantz, The New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2024
Noun
Wildlife fanatics flock to Masai Mara for once-in-a-lifetime safaris, beach lovers island-hop through the turquoise waters of the Lamu Archipelago, and cosmopolitans appreciate Nairobi's growing culinary and art scene.
—Hannah Towey, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Oct. 2024
Just like globalization forced us all to become cosmopolitans (citizens of the universe) by breaking spatial boundaries, the aging of the internet compels us to become archeopolitans—citizens of an archive—by breaking down temporal boundaries.
—Carl Öhman, TIME, 31 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for cosmopolitan
Dictionary Entries Near cosmopolitan
Cite this Entry
“Cosmopolitan.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cosmopolitan. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
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