unsophisticated
Americanadjective
-
not sophisticated; sophisticated; simple; artless.
- Synonyms:
- inexperienced, naive, ingenuous
-
without complexity or refinements.
a relatively unsophisticated mechanism.
-
unadulterated; pure; genuine.
adjective
-
lacking experience or worldly wisdom
-
marked by a lack of refinement or complexity
an unsophisticated machine
-
unadulterated or genuine
Other Word Forms
- unsophisticatedly adverb
- unsophisticatedness noun
- unsophistication noun
Etymology
Origin of unsophisticated
First recorded in 1620–30; un- 1 + sophisticated
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.
Bets were so heavily in favor of the Seahawks that he started putting money down on the Patriots, hoping to build an edge over unsophisticated bettors.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 9, 2026
When Mark Delgado made his MLS debut, he was just 17 and even he acknowledges his approach to soccer was unsophisticated.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 6, 2024
Working class people are frequently portrayed as lazy, uneducated, or unsophisticated, but we also have a long history of recognizing their hard work, savvy, and perseverance.
From Salon • Aug. 4, 2024
For a long time, scientists considered Neanderthals brutish and unsophisticated by comparison with our species.
From BBC • May 1, 2024
We were agrarian, unsophisticated, industrious people, Jews and Christians alike, whose lives revolved around family, our religious calendars, and the seasons of sowing and reaping.
From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson
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.
