Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To cause to become less natural, especially to make less naive and more worldly.
  • intransitive verb To make more complex or refined.
  • intransitive verb To mislead or corrupt (a person).
  • intransitive verb To make impure; adulterate.
  • intransitive verb To use sophistry.
  • noun A sophisticated person.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Perverted; corrupt.
  • Adulterated; impure; hence, not genuine; spurious.
  • To make sophistical; involve in sophistry; clothe or obscure with fallacies; falsify.
  • To overcome or delude by sophistry; hence, to pervert; mislead.
  • To adulterate; render impure by admixture.
  • To deprive of simplicity; subject to the methods or influence of art.
  • To alter without authority and without notice, whether to deceive the reader or hearer, or to make a fancied improvement or correction; alter, as a text or the spelling of a word, in order to support a preconceived opinion of what it was or should be.
  • To use sophistry; deal sophistically.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • transitive verb To render worthless by admixture; to adulterate; to damage; to pervert.
  • adjective Adulterated; not pure; not genuine.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A worldly-wise person
  • verb To make less natural or innocent
  • verb To practice sophistry; change the meaning of, or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive
  • verb To alter and make impure, as with the intention to deceive
  • verb To make more complex or refined
  • adjective Adulterated; not pure; not genuine.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb alter and make impure, as with the intention to deceive
  • verb practice sophistry; change the meaning of or be vague about in order to mislead or deceive
  • verb make more complex or refined
  • verb make less natural or innocent
  • noun a worldly-wise person

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English sophisticaten, to adulterate, from Medieval Latin sophisticāre, sophisticāt-, from Latin sophisticus, sophistic, from Greek sophistikos, from sophistēs, sophist; see sophist.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word sophisticate.

Examples

  • First ye shall well know, that the natural balm is full clear, and of citron colour and strongly smelling; and if it be thick, or red or black, it is sophisticate, that is to say, counterfeited and made like it for deceit.

    The Travels of Sir John Mandeville 2004

  • First zee schulle wel knowe, that the naturelle bawme is fulle cleer, and of cytrine colour, and stronge smellynge; and zif it be thykke, or reed or blak, it is sophisticate, that is to seyne, contrefeted and made lyke it, for disceyt.

    The Voyages and Travels of Sir John Mandeville 2004

  • First zee schulle wel knowe, that the naturelle bawme is fulle cleer, and of cytrine colour, and stronge smellynge; and zif it be thykke, or reed or blak, it is sophisticate, that is to seyne, contrefeted and made lyke it, for disceyt.

    The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation 2003

  • First zee schulle wel knowe, that the naturelle bawme is fulle cleer, and of cytrine colour, and stronge smellynge; and zif it be thykke, or reed or blak, it is sophisticate, that is to seyne, contrefeted and made lyke it, for disceyt.

    The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 08 Asia, Part I Richard Hakluyt 1584

  • Or put a drope of bawme in clere watre, in a cuppe of sylver or in a clere bacyn, and stere it wel with the clere watre; and zif that the bawme be fyn and of his owne kynde, the watre schalle nevre trouble: and zif the bawme be sophisticate, that is to seyne countrefeted, the watre schalle become anon trouble: And also zif the bawme be fyn, it schalle falle to the botome of the vesselle, as thoughe it were Quyksylver: For the fyn bawme is more hevy twyes, than is the bawme that is sophisticate and countrefeted.

    The Voyages and Travels of Sir John Mandeville 2004

  • Or put a drop of balm in clear water in a cup of silver or in a clear basin, stir it well with the clear water; and if the balm be fine and of his own kind, the water shall never trouble; and if the balm be sophisticate, that is to say counterfeited, the water shall become anon trouble; and also if the balm be fine it shall fall to the bottom of the vessel, as though it were quicksilver, for the fine balm is more heavy twice than is the balm that is sophisticate and counterfeited.

    The Travels of Sir John Mandeville 2004

  • Or put a drope of bawme in clere watre, in a cuppe of sylver or in a clere bacyn, and stere it wel with the clere watre; and zif that the bawme be fyn and of his owne kynde, the watre schalle nevre trouble: and zif the bawme be sophisticate, that is to seyne countrefeted, the watre schalle become anon trouble: And also zif the bawme be fyn, it schalle falle to the botome of the vesselle, as thoughe it were Quyksylver: For the fyn bawme is more hevy twyes, than is the bawme that is sophisticate and countrefeted.

    The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation 2003

  • Or put a drope of bawme in clere watre, in a cuppe of sylver or in a clere bacyn, and stere it wel with the clere watre; and zif that the bawme be fyn and of his owne kynde, the watre schalle nevre trouble: and zif the bawme be sophisticate, that is to seyne countrefeted, the watre schalle become anon trouble: And also zif the bawme be fyn, it schalle falle to the botome of the vesselle, as thoughe it were Quyksylver: For the fyn bawme is more hevy twyes, than is the bawme that is sophisticate and countrefeted.

    The Principal Navigations, Voyages, Traffiques and Discoveries of the English Nation — Volume 08 Asia, Part I Richard Hakluyt 1584

  • One word that I find particularly fascinating is the word 'sophisticate'.

    Tim Hanni: Pervsion, Corruption and Wine Appreciation Tim Hanni 2010

  • One word that I find particularly fascinating is the word 'sophisticate'.

    Tim Hanni: Pervsion, Corruption and Wine Appreciation Tim Hanni 2010

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.