Standard Lemma guide

suave

adj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /swɑːv/
  • US: /swɑv/
  • US: /sweɪv/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -ɑːv
  • rhymes with -eɪv
  • CMU ARPABET: S W AA1 V Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of a person, charming, though often in a manner that is insincere or sophisticated.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • a man with a suave demeanor

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Displaying smoothness and sophistication.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • suave excellence

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Gracious, kind.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

sweet-talk

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective satellite

Meaning 5

smoothly agreeable and courteous with a degree of sophistication

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • he was too politic to quarrel with so important a personage
  • the manager pacified the customer with a smooth apology for the error

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: politic, smooth, bland

Antonyms: none provided

6

adjective satellite

Meaning 6

having a sophisticated charm

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • a debonair gentleman

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: debonair, debonaire, debonnaire

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From Middle English suave, borrowed from Latin suāvis (“sweet, pleasant”); doublet of sweet. First attested in the early 15th century.

Across languages

Translations

25 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: любезен (ljubezen) — charming but sophisticated
  • Bulgarian: приветлив (privetliv) — charming but sophisticated
  • Chinese Mandarin: 圓滑 /圆滑 (yuánhuá) — charming but sophisticated
  • Chinese Mandarin: 溫文爾雅的 /温文尔雅的 (wēnwén'ěryǎ de) — charming but sophisticated
  • Czech: uhlazený — charming but sophisticated
  • Czech: zdvořilý — charming but sophisticated
  • Czech: příjemný — charming but sophisticated
  • Esperanto: milda — charming but sophisticated
  • Finnish: sulava — charming but sophisticated
  • Finnish: sulavakäytöksinen — charming but sophisticated
  • French: suave — charming but sophisticated
  • German: gepflegt — charming but sophisticated
  • German: elegant — charming but sophisticated
  • German: frohgemut — charming but sophisticated
  • Italian: soave — charming but sophisticated
  • Latin: blandus — charming but sophisticated
  • Macedonian: љу́безен (ljúbezen) — charming but sophisticated
  • Macedonian: у́чтив (účtiv) — charming but sophisticated
  • Norwegian: distingvert — charming but sophisticated
  • Romanian: suav — charming but sophisticated
  • Russian: обходительный (obxoditelʹnyj) — charming but sophisticated
  • Serbo-Croatian: slatkorječiv — charming but sophisticated
  • Serbo-Croatian: uglađen — charming but sophisticated
  • Spanish: suave — charming but sophisticated
  • Turkish: cerbezeli — charming but sophisticated