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When Should You Use urbane?
City slickers and country folk have long debated whether life is better in town or in the wide-open spaces, and urbane is a term that springs from the throes of that debate. In its earliest English uses, urbane was synonymous with its close relative urban ("of, relating to, characteristic of, or constituting a city"). Both words come from the Latin adjective urbanus ("urban, urbane"), which in turn comes from urbs, meaning "city." The modern sense of urbane developed from the belief (no doubt fostered by cosmopolitan city dwellers) that living in the city made one more suave and polished than did leading a rural life.
Examples of urbane in a Sentence
Mike Barnes, The Hollywood Reporter, 7 Feb. 2025
Also known as Bozen, the prosperous city is a taste of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, a reminder that today’s Italy is only about 100 years old, and an especially urbane pan-European corner of Europe.
—Ann Abel, Forbes, 15 Jan. 2025
Murnau’s reimagining of the Count is monstrous rather than urbane.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 24 Dec. 2024
The result is a home nestled amidst the natural beauty of Aspen that’s equipped with a sophisticated, urbane sensibility inside.
—Troy J. McMullen, Architectural Digest, 9 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for urbane
Cite this Entry
“Urbane.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/urbane. Accessed 3 Mar. 2025.
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