sophisticated
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
having a lot of experience of the world and knowing about culture, fashion, and social situations.
having obtained worldly experience and lacking naiveté; possessing refined tastes and social grace.
Simple“She has become much more sophisticated since she moved to the city.”
In context“The audience was composed of sophisticated travellers who were unimpressed by the standard tourist attractions.”
SynonymsAntonymsnaiveunsophisticated - 02 B2 Upper Intermediate
highly developed and complex, especially when talking about technology or systems.
highly complex or developed in design, technique, or character; often applied to technology or intellectual arguments.
Simple“The new security system uses sophisticated software to recognise faces.”
In context“Modern hackers use increasingly sophisticated methods to bypass even the most robust corporate firewalls.”
- 03 C1 Advanced
showing a high level of skill or thought; appealing to people with good taste.
appealing to the tastes of an intellectual or cultured person; refined and elegant in style.
Simple“The film was praised for its sophisticated humour and clever writing.”
In context“The critic argued that the novel's sophisticated narrative structure was its greatest strength, though it might alienate casual readers.”
Usage increasingly sophisticated · merit sophisticated
“The gym booking incident is not considered a serious cyber-attack but is another example of the unintended consequences of tasking sophisticated AI bots with jobs.”
“Advances in computer technology mean that today’s Seti efforts are vastly more sophisticated than half a century ago, able to examine millions of radio channels from tens of thousands of galaxies.”
First English usage circa 1601. From Medieval Latin sophisticatus.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.