urbane
urb·ane/ˈɝˈbeɪn/adjective
urbane is spelled U-R-B-A-N-E: 6 letters and 2 syllables (urb·ane). It appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). People search “urban vs urbane” about 40 times a month (Google, United States). As an adjective, urbane means “Of a person (usually a man): having refined manners; courteous, polite, suave” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in urbane?
| Letters | 6: U-R-B-A-N-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: urb·ane |
| In writing | about once in every 3 million words; the 55,433rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search | |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is urbane?
Urbane appears about once in every 3 million words in written English, the 55,433rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce urbane?
- UK /ɜːˈbeɪn/
- US /ˈɝˈbeɪn/
Urbane has 2 syllables, split urb·ane in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-urbane.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with urbane
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: urban.
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
What rhymes with urbane?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as urbane from its last stressed vowel (/eɪn/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of urbane
- urbaner comparative
- more urbane comparative
- urbanest superlative
- most urbane superlative
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does urbane mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
Of a person (usually a man): having refined manners; courteous, polite, suave.
- 2
Of an act, expression, etc.: suited to a person of refined manners; elegant, sophisticated.
- 3
obsoleteObsolete spelling of urban (“of, pertaining to, or characteristic of a city or town, or life in such a place; living in a city or town; having authority or jurisdiction over a city or town”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Urbane in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense of a person (usually a man): having refined manners – see also courteous, polite:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | urbain |
| German | weltgewandt, weltmännisch |
| Spanish | urbano, cortés |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does urbane come from?
A variant of urban + -ane (a variant of -an (suffix meaning ‘of or pertaining to’ forming adjectives)).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).