suave

English

Etymology

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

Pronunciation

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

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɑːv, -eɪv

Adjective

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.]

Derived terms

• outsuave
• suavely
• suaveness
• suavify
• unsuave

Translations

charming but sophisticated

• Bulgarian: любезен (bg) (ljubezen), приветлив (bg) (privetliv)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 圓滑 / 圆滑 (zh) (yuánhuá), 溫文爾雅的 / 温文尔雅的 (zh) (wēnwén'ěryǎ de)

• Czech: uhlazený, zdvořilý (cs), příjemný (cs)
• Esperanto: milda
• Finnish: sulava (fi), sulavakäytöksinen (fi)
• French: suave (fr)
• German: gepflegt (de), elegant (de), frohgemut (de)
• Italian: soave (it)
• Latin: blandus
• Macedonian: љу́безен (ljúbezen), у́чтив (účtiv)
• Norwegian: distingvert (no)
• Romanian: suav (ro)
• Russian: обходительный (ru) (obxoditelʹnyj)
• Serbo-Croatian: slatkorječiv (sh), uglađen
• Spanish: suave (es)
• Turkish: cerbezeli (tr)

Noun

suave (plural suaves)

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

Translations

sweet talk

References

• “suave, adj.”, in OED Online ⁠, Oxford: Oxford University Press, launched 2000.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2026), “suave”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Anagrams

• Sauve, Vause, uveas

French

Etymology

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.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /sɥav/

• Audio:

  (file)

Adjective

suave (plural suaves)

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

Descendants

• → Romanian: suav

References

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

Italian

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

suave m or f by sense (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.

Derived terms

• suavità

Further reading

• suave in Dizionario Italiano Olivetti, Olivetti Media Communication

Latin

Etymology 1

Adverbial use of the neuter singular adjective.

Pronunciation

• (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.

Adverb

suāve (not comparable)

1. sweetly, becomingly, pleasantly

   Synonym: suāviter

Etymology 2

Adjective

suāve

1. nominative/accusative/vocative neuter singular of suāvis

References

• “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

Portuguese

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d-

Proto-Indo-European *-us

Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus

Proto-Italic *suādwus

Proto-Italic *swāwis

Latin suāvisbor.

Portuguese suave

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

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /suˈa.vi/, (faster) /ˈswa.vi/

 

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈswa.vɨ/

• (Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈswa.vɨ/
  • (Northern Portugal) IPA^(key): /ˈswa.bɨ/ [ˈswa.βɨ]

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

Adjective

suave m or f (plural suaves)

1. soft, smooth

   Synonyms: macio, liso

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

Derived terms

• suavizar

Related terms

• suavidade
• suavizante

Further reading

• “suave”, in Dicionário Aulete Digital (in Portuguese), Rio de Janeiro: Lexikon Editora Digital, 2008–2026
• “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, 2015–2026, →ISBN
• “suave”, in Dicionário Priberam da Língua Portuguesa (in Portuguese), Lisbon: Priberam, 2008–2026

Spanish

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *sweh₂d-

Proto-Indo-European *-us

Proto-Indo-European *swéh₂dus

Proto-Italic *suādwus

Proto-Italic *swāwis

Latin suāvisbor.

Spanish suave

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

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈswabe/ [ˈswa.β̞e]

• Audio:

  (file)

• Rhymes: -abe
• Syllabification: sua‧ve

Adjective

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

Derived terms

• al suave
• manjar suave
• suave como el culito de un bebé
• suavecito
• suavemente
• suavísimo
• suavizante
• suavizar

Related terms

• suavidad
• suavo

Further reading

• “suave”, in Diccionario de la lengua española [Dictionary of the Spanish Language] (in Spanish), online version 23.8.1, Royal Spanish Academy [Spanish: Real Academia Española], 15 December 2025
• “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 [Dictionary of the Spanish of Mexico] (in Spanish), second edition, Mexican Academy of the Language [Spanish: Academia Mexicana de la Lengua], 2019