sophisticated
Americanadjective
-
(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.
The "peace or war" message, argues Zoltan Kiszelly, the Fidesz analyst, is more sophisticated than it sounds.
From BBC • Apr. 3, 2026
A slower and less sophisticated version of “Blow My Mind” came out in 2002, while “Sucker for Love” was written with Norwegian duo Röyksopp in sessions for their 2014 collaborative EP.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
Social media algorithms are sophisticated, and what's on your feed can vary wildly from someone else's; a lot of the content is targeted based on your interests and online profile.
From BBC • Mar. 31, 2026
Back then, investors were worried about a Chinese artificial-intelligence startup that said it was able to train a sophisticated AI model with far less compute than what other developers seemed to require.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 27, 2026
Why were supposedly sophisticated traders at AIG FP doing this stuff?
From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis
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.
