Meanings
comparative suaver · superlative suavest
- Of a person, charming, though often in a manner that is insincere or sophisticated.First known use 1830s
a man with a suave demeanor
- Displaying smoothness and sophistication.
suave excellence
Synonyms & antonyms
adjectivehaving a sophisticated charm
adjectivesmoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinsuāvis“sweet, pleasant”
- Middle Englishsuave
- Englishsuave
From Middle English suave, borrowed from Latin suāvis (“sweet, pleasant”); doublet of sweet. First attested in the early 15th century.
More words from Middle English, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian любезен, приветлив
- любезен (ljubezen)charming but sophisticated
- приветлив (privetliv)charming but sophisticated
Chinese Mandarin 圓滑 /圆滑, 溫文爾雅的 /温文尔雅的
- 圓滑 /圆滑 (yuánhuá)charming but sophisticated
- 溫文爾雅的 /温文尔雅的 (wēnwén'ěryǎ de)charming but sophisticated
Czech uhlazený, zdvořilý
- uhlazenýcharming but sophisticated
- zdvořilýcharming but sophisticated
- příjemnýcharming but sophisticated
Esperanto milda
- mildacharming but sophisticated
Finnish sulava, sulavakäytöksinen
- sulavacharming but sophisticated
- sulavakäytöksinencharming but sophisticated
French suave
- suavecharming but sophisticated
German gepflegt, elegant
- gepflegtcharming but sophisticated
- elegantcharming but sophisticated
- frohgemutcharming but sophisticated
Italian soave
- soavecharming but sophisticated
Latin blandus
- blanduscharming but sophisticated
Norwegian distingvert
- distingvertcharming but sophisticated
Romanian suav
- suavcharming but sophisticated
Russian обходительный
- обходительный (obxoditelʹnyj)charming but sophisticated
Spanish suave
- suavecharming but sophisticated
Turkish cerbezeli
- cerbezelicharming but sophisticated
Rhymes & wordplay
Rhymes with suave
Anagrams
Cite this entry
suave. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/suave
“suave.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/suave. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “suave,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/suave.
Source: suave on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.