sophisticated
Americanadjective
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(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
-
pleasing or satisfactory to the tastes of sophisticates, or people who are educated, cultured, and worldly-wise.
sophisticated music.
-
deceptive; misleading.
-
complex or intricate, as a system, process, piece of machinery, or the like.
a sophisticated electronic control system.
-
of, for, or reflecting educated taste, knowledgeable use, etc..
Many Americans are drinking more sophisticated wines now.
adjective
-
having refined or cultured tastes and habits
-
appealing to sophisticates
a sophisticated restaurant
-
unduly refined or cultured
-
pretentiously or superficially wise
-
(of machines, methods, etc) complex and refined
Other Word Forms
- hypersophisticated adjective
- hypersophisticatedly adverb
- oversophisticated adjective
- sophisticatedly adverb
- supersophisticated adjective
- ultrasophisticated adjective
- ultrasophisticatedly adverb
Etymology
Origin of sophisticated
First recorded in 1595–1605; sophisticate + -ed 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They also lay the groundwork of perhaps the most sophisticated attack in college basketball.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 3, 2026
As stocks slipped lower over the past five weeks, sophisticated institutional investors turned decidedly bearish.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 1, 2026
"Their track record for building and operating technologically sophisticated live performance venues is unrivaled."
From BBC • Mar. 26, 2026
Artificial intelligence is making cyberattacks increasingly sophisticated and costlier for businesses, reinsurer Munich Re said Wednesday, warning of methods ranging from highly personalised phishing emails to computer-generated, convincing fake identities.
From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026
The Haitian American engineering feat at Cange was not a case of simple technology; the pipe bringing up the clean, sparkling water from the underground river could not have happened without sophisticated engineering.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
