Literary notes about suave (AI summary)
In literature, "suave" is often deployed to evoke a refined and polished demeanor, one that blends courteous charm with an undercurrent of complexity. Authors use the word to characterize individuals whose smooth speech and mannerisms can both comfort and disarm, as when a voice carries a reassuring yet subtly threatening quality [1] or when a character’s courteous exterior hints at a more intricate inner life [2, 3]. The term also enriches descriptions of settings or atmospheres by suggesting an almost tangible elegance—smooth, warm, and immaculately controlled—that mirrors the social finesse of its inhabitants [4, 5]. Such versatility in usage allows "suave" to encapsulate both the allure of debonair conduct and the potential for hidden motives, making it a favored descriptor in diverse literary contexts [6, 7].
- His voice was still low and suave, but it carried with it the weight of a threat, and the threat, although unspoken, filled Miss Farrar with alarm.
— from Peace Manoeuvres by Richard Harding Davis - "Can I speak to you for five minutes, Miss Colwyn?" said Lady Caroline, in so suave a voice that for a moment Janetta felt reassured.
— from A True Friend: A Novel by Adeline Sergeant - The suave priest, her uncle, seated in his armchair, would hold the page at arm’s length, read it smiling and approve of the literary form.
— from A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man by James Joyce - The suave climate was somehow to foster alike a sense of caste and good neighborliness—class distinctions and republican ideas.
— from Pioneers of the Old South: A Chronicle of English Colonial Beginnings by Mary Johnston - The window was open, the night air still and suave and warm, her sole protection a filmy negligee over a night-dress of sheerest silk and lace.
— from Nobody by Louis Joseph Vance - His brief word broke up the conference—it had already lasted longer than suave and reassuring Dr. Natcheff would have advised.
— from Sophy of Kravonia: A Novel by Anthony Hope - No one realized better than this suave and astute diplomatist that the bonds which still held together the three nations were about to break.
— from Italy at War and the Allies in the West by E. Alexander (Edward Alexander) Powell
