Meanings
comparative more cosmopolitan · superlative most cosmopolitan
- Composed of people from all over the world.
- At ease in any part of the world; having a wide experience with many cultures.
The philosophy of cosmopolitanism underlies theories of global citizenship. Cosmopolitanism is the ability to balance a local and global identity. A cosmopolitan individual engages meaningfully with different cultures and feels at home in the world.
2013 November 25, Caroline Ferguson, “What kind of global citizens are teachers creating?”, in The Guardian - biologyGrowing or living in many parts of the world; widely distributed.
Domestication and the evolution of anthrophilic traits in houseflies and some drosophilids have allowed certain species to attain cosmopolitan status.
2005, David K. Yeates, Brian M. Wiegmann, The Evolutionary Biology of Flies, page 372
plural cosmopolitans
- A cosmopolitan person; a cosmopolite.
'She is extremely rich. A cosmopolitan.'
1934, Agatha Christie, chapter 3, in Murder on the Orient Express, London: HarperCollins, published 2017, page 25 - A cocktail containing vodka, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry juice.
Synonyms: cosmo
- A moth of species Leucania loreyi.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA cocktail containing vodka, triple sec, lime juice and cranberry juice.
nounA butterfly of species Vanessa cardui.
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecomposed of people from or at home in many parts of the world; especially not provincial in attitudes or interests
adjectiveof worldwide scope or applicability
nouna sophisticated person who has travelled in many countries
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
From cosmopolit(e) + -an. Compare metropolitan and megalopolitan.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian космополи́тен, космополи́тен
- космополи́тен (kosmopolíten)composed of people from all over the world
- космополи́тен (kosmopolíten)at ease in any part of the world
- космополи́тен (kosmopolíten)growing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
- космопо́литън (kosmopólităn)cocktail
Catalan cosmopolita, cosmopolita
- cosmopolitacomposed of people from all over the world
- cosmopolitaat ease in any part of the world
- cosmopolitagrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
Chinese Mandarin 大都会的, 世界性的
- 大都会的composed of people from all over the world
- 世界性的composed of people from all over the world
- 四海为家的at ease in any part of the world
Finnish kansainvälinen, kosmopoliittinen
- kansainvälinencomposed of people from all over the world
- kosmopoliittinenat ease in any part of the world
- maailmankansalainenat ease in any part of the world
- yleismaailmallinengrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
French cosmopolite, cosmopolite
- cosmopolitecomposed of people from all over the world
- cosmopoliteat ease in any part of the world
- cosmopolitegrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
German kosmopolitisch, weltbürgerlich
- kosmopolitischcomposed of people from all over the world
- weltbürgerlichcomposed of people from all over the world
- kosmopolitischat ease in any part of the world
- weltbürgerlichat ease in any part of the world
- kosmopolitischgrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
- weltbürgerlichgrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
Hebrew כלל־עולמי, קוסמופוליטי
- כלל־עולמי (klal-olamí)composed of people from all over the world
- קוסמופוליטי (kosmopolíti)composed of people from all over the world
Hungarian kozmopolita, kozmopolita
- kozmopolitacomposed of people from all over the world
- kozmopolitaat ease in any part of the world
- világpolgáriat ease in any part of the world
Italian cosmopolita, cosmopolita
- cosmopolitacomposed of people from all over the world
- cosmopolitaat ease in any part of the world
Japanese コスモポリタン
- コスモポリタン (kosumoporitan)cocktail
Polish kosmopolityczny, kosmopolityczny
- kosmopolitycznycomposed of people from all over the world
- kosmopolitycznyat ease in any part of the world
- kosmopolitycznygrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
Portuguese cosmopolita, cosmopolitano
- cosmopolitacomposed of people from all over the world
- cosmopolitanocomposed of people from all over the world
- cosmopolitaat ease in any part of the world
- cosmopolitanoat ease in any part of the world
- cosmopolitagrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
- cosmopolitanogrowing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
Russian космополити́чный, космополити́ческий
- космополити́чный (kosmopolitíčnyj)composed of people from all over the world
- космополити́ческий (kosmopolitíčeskij)composed of people from all over the world
- космополити́чный (kosmopolitíčnyj)at ease in any part of the world
- космополити́ческий (kosmopolitíčeskij)at ease in any part of the world
- космополити́чный (kosmopolitíčnyj)growing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
Scottish Gaelic os-nàiseanta
- os-nàiseantacomposed of people from all over the world
Spanish cosmopolita
- cosmopolitacomposed of people from all over the world
Swedish cosmopolitan
- cosmopolitancocktail
Ukrainian космополіти́чний, космополіти́чний
- космополіти́чний (kosmopolitýčnyj)composed of people from all over the world
- космополіти́чний (kosmopolitýčnyj)at ease in any part of the world
- космополіти́чний (kosmopolitýčnyj)growing in many parts of the world; widely distributed
Yiddish קאָזמאָפּאָליטיש
- קאָזמאָפּאָליטיש (kozmopolitish)composed of people from all over the world
Cite this entry
cosmopolitan. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmopolitan
“cosmopolitan.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmopolitan. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cosmopolitan,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cosmopolitan.
Source: cosmopolitan on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.