sophomoric

[ sof-uh-mawr-ik, -mor- ]

adjective

1. of or relating to a sophomore or sophomores.
2. suggestive of or resembling the traditional sophomore; intellectually pretentious, overconfident, conceited, etc., but immature:

   sophomoric questions.

   Synonyms: juvenile, adolescent, childish

Other Words From

• sopho·mori·cal·ly adverb
• unsoph·o·moric adjective
• unsoph·o·mori·cal adjective
• unsoph·o·mori·cal·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of sophomoric¹

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15; sophomore + -ic

Example Sentences

They’re both dog owners and fans of trivia nights, and both have an affinity for sophomoric humor.

From Washington Post

The ultimate hope is eventually to communicate on some meaningful basis with whales, no matter how simplistic or sophomoric it may turn out to be.

From Nautilus

My sophomoric self was laughing all the way to Trader Joe’s over this whole “date paste” thing, only to realize that it’s just a paste made out of dates.

From Ozy

I think the sophomoric ways that both sides of the aisle are acting, it’s just like—I said to my team the other day, it was right around the time Democrats were saying $600 for unemployment.

From Time

Related Words

• foolish