sophisticated

[ suh-fis-ti-key-tid ]

adjective

1. (of a person, ideas, tastes, manners, etc.) altered by education, experience, etc., so as to be worldly-wise; not naive:

   a sophisticated young socialite;

   the sophisticated eye of an experienced journalist.

   Synonyms: cultivated, experienced, cosmopolitan, worldly

   Antonyms: naive

2. pleasing or satisfactory to the tastes of sophisticates, or people who are educated, cultured, and worldly-wise:

   sophisticated music.

3. deceptive; misleading.
4. complex or intricate, as a system, process, piece of machinery, or the like:

   a sophisticated electronic control system.

5. of, for, or reflecting educated taste, knowledgeable use, etc.:

   Many Americans are drinking more sophisticated wines now.

sophisticated

/ səˈfɪstɪˌkeɪtɪd /

adjective

1. having refined or cultured tastes and habits
2. appealing to sophisticates

   a sophisticated restaurant

3. unduly refined or cultured
4. pretentiously or superficially wise
5. (of machines, methods, etc) complex and refined

Derived Forms

• soˈphistiˌcatedly, adverb

Other Words From

• so·phisti·cated·ly adverb
• hyper·so·phisti·cated adjective
• hyper·so·phisti·cated·ly adverb
• over·so·phisti·cated adjective
• super·so·phisti·cated adjective
• ultra·so·phisti·cated adjective
• ultra·so·phisti·cated·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sophisticated¹

First recorded in 1595–1605; sophisticate + -ed ²

Example Sentences

If you want to change someone’s behavior, you can try all manner of sophisticated manipulation techniques.

From Quartz

The way we have been thinking about it is to use technology to approach this in a more sophisticated way.

From Fortune

That process got even more sophisticated, he said, in the early 2000s when political data operations began categorizing voters by how early they tended to send in their ballots.

From Voice of San Diego

Japan and South Korea already have highly sophisticated nuclear power industries, and supply reactors to most of the world — the Emirati reactor is of Korean design.

From Ozy

One of the richest tech companies, with some of the most sophisticated AI capabilities, had just paired up with one of the world’s top makers of robots.

From Singularity Hub 

Sophisticated, nuanced, melodious pop music, that sweeps you away.

From The Daily Beast

With this sophisticated tone set, the shop opened and developed a clientele.

From The Daily Beast

It has always featured the very best voices and employed the most sophisticated stagecraft of any opera house.

From The Daily Beast

This was the most sophisticated global tracking system ever devised, and it worked with lethal efficiency.

From The Daily Beast

Even in the most sophisticated echelons of the media ecosystem, the fix was in.

From The Daily Beast

He possessed the same personal charm as Tchaikovsky, but was far more sophisticated and self-conscious.

From Project Gutenberg

I suppose I can't hope to be quite such a belle as if I had lived in those less-sophisticated days, but who knows?

From Project Gutenberg

Accustomed to women of a more sophisticated class, Jean had at first taken her navet for the height of subtlety.

From Project Gutenberg

The subject of the moral reflections at the end is self-delusion in the particular form of sophisticated vanity.

From Project Gutenberg

We have a very conservative, fastidious, and sophisticated constituency; and this is one of the limitations by which we are bound.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• complicated
• delicate
• intricate
• modern
• refined
• subtle