What does citified mean?
"Citified" is an informal English adjective describing someone or something as having the characteristics of a city or its inhabitants. It is most often applied to people — particularly those from rural backgrounds who have acquired urban manners, dress, speech, or attitudes — as in "years in the capital had left him thoroughly citified." It can also describe places that have taken on an urban, built-up character. The word is formed by adding the suffix "-ified" to "city," following the pattern of verbs like "fortify" and "intensify." Its connotations are mixed: it may suggest polish, worldliness, and sophistication, or, depending on the speaker's point of view, a loss of rustic charm or authenticity. For this reason it frequently appears in affectionate or gently ironic descriptions of country-and-city contrasts in literature and everyday conversation. Related forms include the verb "citify" and the noun "citification." Though not a formal term of art, "citified" remains a vivid, expressive way to capture the cultural divide between town and country.
adjectiveHaving the characteristics, manners, or atmosphere of a city; urban in style or character. Often used of people or places from the countryside that have taken on city ways.
- Having or reflecting the characteristics, manners, or sophistication of city life (often applied to people).
- (Of places) built up, urbanized, or resembling a city rather than the countryside.
"After a decade in New York, she had become thoroughly citified and no longer flinched at the noise."
"The citified tourists stuck out immediately among the villagers."
"He returned from Chicago citified in dress and speech."
"Citified" is what happens to country cousins who come back from the big city talking fast and wearing shoes too nice for the farm.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of citified
"Citified" derives from "city," which entered Middle English from Old French "cité," ultimately from Latin "civitas" (meaning citizenry or community, from "civis," citizen). The adjective was formed with the suffix "-fied," from Latin "-ficare" (to make or do), yielding a verb "citify" whose past participle came to function adjectively, much like "fortify" or "intensify." It appears in English usage by the nineteenth century. Words sharing the Latin root include "civic," "civil," and "civilization."
Related word forms
How citified is actually used
Informal to neutral register. Frequently used with mild irony or affection when describing country people who have adopted city manners, and can carry either a complimentary note (sophistication) or a faintly critical one (loss of rural simplicity).
Easily confused with citified
"Certified" means officially verified or accredited, while "citified" means having the qualities of a city or city-dwellers.