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suave

suave

18 7.1
Confident and charming in a smooth, polite way, often about a man
  • adjective
  • /swɑv/
translation icon : elegante
  • The suave gentleman expertly guided the conversation with charm and poise.

We're in Berlin and this hotel is suave, very suave.

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Examples

  • The waiter brought menus handwritten in French, which Yael knew well enough to follow Lee's suave orders.

    Fiction book (1993)
  • Your dad was suave, he had style.

  • Are you trying to be suave?

  • We're in Berlin and this hotel is suave, very suave.

  • What we need here is someone suave, someone sophisticated, someone like...

  • I was at a party, surrounded by glam ladies and suave men, and feeling a little lost.

    Blog text (2)
  • In Persona 4, your character is silent and suave, beloved by every girl he sees.

    Blog text (34)
  • Mr. J. Alfred Prufrock may lack confidence, but I, the author, am as suave a seducer as you are likely to meet.

    Academic text (2011)
  • He's decked out in first-class Armani and looks suave as hell.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • Don't vote for him because he's eloquent, worldly, and suave, keeps in shape, and is popular.

    Blog text (8)

Synonyms

elegant
vssuave
165 3.3

Having an attractive, stylish look that shows good taste

adds a warmer, more confident social charm to grace
classy
vssuave
133 4.1

Being elegant and stylish and showing good taste

feels more casual charm and smoothly confident sociability
glamorous
vssuave
132 4.3

Looking stylish and exciting in a way that attracts attention

is subtler and less showy, with calm smooth charm instead
smart
vssuave
127 2.4

Looks neat, clean, and fashionable

is more about smooth social charm and elegant confidence
smooth
vssuave
116 4.4

A person who speaks and acts confidently and politely

adds visible personal charm and more overt elegant poise
stylish
vssuave
85 2.0

Clothes or rooms that look fashionable and attractive

emphasizes personal charm and smooth manner beyond fashion
chic
vssuave
57 3.5

Elegant and fashionable in a simple, modern way

is subtler, adding relaxed charm and gentle confidence to style
dapper
vssuave
16 6.2

Neat and stylish in the way a man dresses

is broader, adding easy charm and social confidence beyond neatness
debonair
vssuave
  • Formal
8 7.5

A person, especially a man, who is confident, stylish, and charming in a relaxed way

is more polished and formally elegant rather than relaxed ease
refined
vssuave
  • Formal
4 4.1

Showing elegant, polite manners and good taste

is more about confident, charming smoothness than pure culture
soignée
vssuave
  • Formal
9.9

Very well dressed and neatly groomed in a stylish way

includes relaxed confidence and social charm beyond grooming
soigne
vssuave
  • Formal
9.9

Looks neat and elegant

leans more toward warm charm and smooth social manner

Antonyms

33 3.0

Not graceful in movement or action

unrefined
  • Offensive
1 6.0

A person who lacks good manners or social skills

How Suave

urbane
  • Formal
7 7.0
debonair
  • Formal
8 7.5
suave
18 7.1
smooth
116 4.4
plain
208 1.0
awkward
311 2.7

Surface Forms

suave positive
smoother comparative
smoothest superlative

Etymology

Suave comes from the Latin word suavis, which meant 'pleasant' or 'sweet' and gave the idea of something easy to like. So a suave person is 'smooth' and pleasing in the way they act, which is why we use it for someone charming and confident.