suave

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

• (UK) IPA^(key): /swɑːv/
• (US) IPA^(key): /swɑv/, /sweɪv/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːv, -eɪv

suave (comparative suaver, superlative suavest)

1. (of a person) Charming though often in a manner that is insincere or sophisticated. [from 1830s]

   a man with a suave demeanor

2. Displaying smoothness and sophistication.

   suave excellence

3. Gracious, kind. [from early 14th c.]

• outsuave
• suavely
• suaveness

suave (plural suaves)

1. sweet-talk^[1] (Can we add an example for this sense?)

• “suave, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “suave”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

• Sauve, Vause, uveas

Inherited from Middle French suave, borrowed from Latin suāvis (“sweet, pleasant”), replacing the inherited form souef (in use until the 17th century), from Old French soef, suef (“sweet, mild, agreeable, tranquil, peaceful”), descendants of which live on in other Oïl languages.

• IPA^(key): /sɥav/

• Audio:

  (file)

suave (plural suaves)

1. (especially of persons and their speech) smooth and graceful, polite, polished, suave

• → Romanian: suav

• Walther von Wartburg (1928–2002) “suavis”, in Französisches Etymologisches Wörterbuch, volume 12: Sk–š, page 325
• “suave”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

• IPA^(key): /suˈa.ve/
• Rhymes: -ave
• Hyphenation: su‧à‧ve

suave m or f (plural suavi)

1. (literary, archaic) alternative form of soave
   • 1567, Ricettario fiorentino [Florentine Cookbook]‎^[1], page 5:

     L'acqua buona debbe essere limpida, pura, e netta da ogni altra cosa; mancare di tutte le qualità come odore, sapore, e colore; essere suave al gusto.

     Good water should be transparent, pure, and clear of any other things; [it should] lack qualities such as smell, taste, and color; [it should] be delicate when tasted.

• suavità

• suave in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Adverbial use of the neuter singular adjective.

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [ˈsʷaː.wɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [ˈsʷaː.ve]
• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): [suˈaː.wɛ]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): [suˈaː.ve]
• Note: the v is found scanned as either a vowel or a consonant, with Romance descendants typically reflecting the former.

suāve (not comparable)

1. sweetly, becomingly, pleasantly

   Synonym: suāviter

suāve

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of suāvis

• “suave”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
• “suave”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers

Borrowed from Latin suāvis (“sweet, pleasant”).

• Rhymes: -avi, -avɨ
• Hyphenation: su‧a‧ve

suave m or f (plural suaves)

1. soft, smooth

   Synonyms: macio, liso

2. gentle, mild
3. (Brazil, colloquial) fine, okay

• suavizar

• suavidade
• suavizante

• “suave” in Dicionário Aberto based on Novo Diccionário da Língua Portuguesa de Cândido de Figueiredo, 1913
• “suave”, in Michaelis Dicionário Brasileiro da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), São Paulo: Editora Melhoramentos, 2015–2025
• “suave”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2025

Borrowed from Latin suāvis (“sweet, pleasant”).

• IPA^(key): /ˈswabe/ [ˈswa.β̞e]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -abe
• Syllabification: sua‧ve

suave m or f (masculine and feminine plural suaves)

1. smooth, soft, fluffy

   Antonym: áspero

   piel suave ― soft (or smooth) skin

   textura suave ― soft (or smooth) texture

2. soft, gentle, light, mild (e.g. mild flavor, a mild winter)

   aterrizaje suave ― soft landing

   viento suave ― gentle wind

   un toque suave ― a gentle (or soft or light) touch

3. suave (charming, confident and elegant)

   Synonyms: terso, blando, liso

   Antonyms: áspero, duro

4. cool, acceptable, easy

• “suave”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 10 December 2024
• “suave”, in Diccionario de americanismos [Dictionary of Americanisms] (in Spanish), Association of Academies of the Spanish Language [Spanish: Asociación de Academias de la Lengua Española], 2010
• “suave”, in Diccionario del español de México, Segunda edición, Academia Mexicana de la Lengua, 2019