sophisticate

[ noun adjective suh-fis-ti-kit, -keyt; verb suh-fis-ti-keyt ]

noun

1. a sophisticated person.

adjective

1. sophisticated.

verb (used with object)

, so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing.

1. to make less natural, simple, or ingenuous; make worldly-wise.
2. to alter; pervert:

   to sophisticate a meaning beyond recognition.

verb (used without object)

, so·phis·ti·cat·ed, so·phis·ti·cat·ing.

1. to use sophistry; quibble.

sophisticate

verb

1. tr to make (someone) less natural or innocent, as by education
2. to pervert or corrupt (an argument, etc) by sophistry
3. tr to make more complex or refined
4. rare.
   to falsify (a text, etc) by alterations

noun

1. a sophisticated person

Derived Forms

• soˈphistiˌcator, noun
• soˌphistiˈcation, noun

Other Words From

• outso·phisti·cate verb (used with object) outsophisticated outsophisticating

Word History and Origins

Origin of sophisticate¹

1350–1400; Middle English (adj. and v.) < Medieval Latin sophisticātus (past participle of sophisticāre to tamper with, disguise, trick with words), equivalent to Latin sophistic ( us ) ( sophistic ) + -ātus -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of sophisticate¹

C14: from Medieval Latin sophisticāre, from Latin sophisticus sophistic

Example Sentences

The late British author was a sophisticate with an eye for irony, influenced in large part by Monty Python’s random absurdities, P.G.

From Slate

It pulls people in on the promise of speaking effortless French in a Parisian bakery, on being a sophisticate with the drive to learn another language.

From Slate

“Given that he was this urban sophisticate, people thought he was exploiting his subject matter. Most critics thought it was high style, devoid of content,” Philip Gefter, author of the Avedon biography “What Becomes a Legend Most,” said in a phone interview.

From New York Times

Others are cleverly using the Oscars carpet as another kind of stage, where they can audition new characters, such as the sexy vixen, the sophisticate or the gender-bending glamster.

From Los Angeles Times

Drake is a social media sophisticate, a fine walker of the almost completely obliterated line between fandom and creation.

From New York Times

Related Words

• corrupt
• degrade
• pollute