Meaning & use
sophisticated
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Meanings
adjectivecomparableapproving
Having worldly experience and refined taste, and so behaving or choosing in a cultured way.
Grammar: Describes people, tastes or places: a sophisticated traveler.
Patterns
- sophisticated taste
- a sophisticated person
She had a sophisticated taste in wine and music.
The sophisticated guests discussed art over dinner.
He looked sophisticated in a tailored suit.
adjectivecomparable
Advanced and complex in design, working or method.
Grammar: Describes systems, tools or ideas: a sophisticated system.
Patterns
- a sophisticated system
- a sophisticated approach
The bank uses a sophisticated system to detect fraud.
The submarine carried sophisticated sonar equipment.
Her argument was subtle and sophisticated.
adjectivecomparable
Knowing a lot and not easily fooled, especially about a topic or audience.
Grammar: Describes people or groups: a sophisticated audience.
Patterns
- a sophisticated audience
- a sophisticated buyer
Sophisticated investors saw through the scheme.
The festival draws a sophisticated audience of film lovers.
Modern shoppers are more sophisticated than before.
Word forms
| comparative | more sophisticated |
|---|---|
| superlative | most sophisticated |
Common combinations
- sophisticated technology
- The hospital invested in sophisticated technology.
- sophisticated taste
- The chef has a sophisticated taste for spices.
- highly sophisticated
- The attack was highly sophisticated.
- sophisticated audience
- The play appeals to a sophisticated audience.
- sophisticated equipment
- Scientists use sophisticated equipment to track storms.
Synonyms and how they differ
- refined
- Refined stresses polished manners and taste, but it is not used for machines.
- advanced
- Advanced simply says something is ahead in development and does not suggest complexity.
- complex
- Complex means made of many parts and does not suggest cleverness or quality.
- worldly
- Worldly means experienced in life, sometimes with a hint of being less innocent.
Opposites
Word family
- sophistication noun
- the quality of being sophisticated
- sophisticate noun
- a worldly, cultured person
- unsophisticated adjective
- simple, plain or naive
- sophistry noun
- clever but false reasoning
Commonly confused: sophisticated or sophomoric?
sophisticated vs sophomoric
Sophomoric means immature and pretentious, and it is nearly the opposite of sophisticated.
Practice
The airline's new software is ____, using machine learning to predict delays.
Choose one answer.
Sophisticated fits an advanced, complex system. Unsophisticated, simple and outdated all suggest the reverse.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sophisticated”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.