sophisticatedso‧phis‧ti‧cat‧ed /səˈfɪstɪkeɪtɪd/ ●●○ adjective 
a sophisticated, witty American Clarissa’s hair was swept up into a sophisticated style.2a sophisticated machine, system, method etc is very well designed and very advanced, and often works in a complicated way: sophisticated software a highly sophisticated weapons system3having a lot of knowledge and experience of difficult or complicated subjects and therefore able to understand them well: British voters have become much more sophisticated.► see thesaurus at advanced—sophistication /səˌfɪstɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]: a New York nightclub that was the height of sophistication (=very fashionable and expensive)
WORD ORIGINsophisticated
Origin:
1300-1400 Medieval Latin past participle of sophisticare ‘to deceive with words, hide the true nature of something’, from Latin sophisticus, from Greek, from sophistes; ➔ SOPHISTRYEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- a sophisticated woman whose friends included many rich and famous people
- a play that will appeal to a sophisticated audience
- Even experienced and sophisticated readers have been known to have trouble with Thoreau's books.
- Everyone at the party was sophisticated and well-educated.
- Eye operations often involve the use of highly sophisticated equipment, such as lasers.
- Nothing beats black for the classic sophisticated look.
- She was glamorous and sophisticated, but seemed a little lonely.
- Sondheim's lyrics have a sophisticated brilliance.
- The missile has a sophisticated guidance system.
- The play is intended for a sophisticated audience.
- The suave, sophisticated 60-year-old singer is still performing and drawing crowds.
- And yet she subtly steered her boss towards a more sophisticated version of this.
- Anne thought often about Sarah and her sophisticated partner on the Saturday night of the dinner dance.
- As a fourteen-year-old she had made her debut in a particularly sophisticated team, and went on to appear on Broadway.
- Develops the skills further, and pays special attention to more sophisticated sub-skills such as scanning a text.
- He proposed to develop a sophisticated fishing industry.
- However, it may give rise to the necessity for a fairly sophisticated mathematical calculation if a conversion table is not published.
- Really sophisticated users may like to invest in the ultimate communications link between the two systems, a local area network.
- These developments in turn contributed to the rebirth of various critical and intellectually sophisticated neo-Marxisms in the 1960s and 1970s.
THESAURUS
using very modern technology and ideas: · technologically advanced nations· Their equipment isn’t as advanced as ours.
very advanced, and working in a better but often more complicated way than other things: · highly sophisticated weapons· As machines become more sophisticated, they become more likely to break down.
using very advanced technology, especially electronic equipment and computers: · high-tech industries in Silicon Valley· High-tech listening equipment was used to find survivors in the rubble.
using the newest and most advanced features, ideas, and materials that are available: · The football club has invested £40 million in state-of-the-art training facilities.· The sound system is state-of-the-art.
cutting-edge technology or research is the most advanced that there is at this time: · The system uses cutting-edge technology to identify and eliminate viruses.· cutting-edge medical research
Longman Language Activatormachines, systems etc · The factory has installed advanced machinery at enormous cost.· Modern armies consist of fewer soldiers and more advanced weapons systems.· The bomb-detection equipment now used in most airports is very advanced.
very advanced, and better designed or more skilfully made than other things of the same type, and often working in a complicated way: · The missile has a sophisticated guidance system.highly sophisticated (=very sophisticated): · Eye operations often involve the use of highly sophisticated equipment, such as lasers.
: high-tech industry/company/equipment etc using very advanced electronic equipment and machines, especially computers: · Northern California remains a popular location for high-tech firms.· On display at the exhibition will be a range of 'hi-tech homes of the future'.· Prices of computers, electronics, and other high-tech products have fallen at a rapid pace.
a smart machine, bomb, weapon etc has a computer system that makes it able to control itself and make decisions for itself about how to operate: · The US used smart weapons in Iraq and Kosovo.· Smart machines and other appliances are operated via the Internet.
using the most advanced and recently developed methods, materials, or knowledge: · The new phone system uses state-of-the-art technology.· The movie was made with state-of-the-art computer graphics.
if something is ahead of its time , it is new and very different from other things of a similar type - use this especially about things that people do not understand or like at first, but later realize how good they are: · The Vortex graphics system was ahead of its time. Few were sold but it strongly influenced later designs.· Bonner's research in particle physics was ahead of its time and widely misunderstood.
in a more advanced position than other organizations or companies in developing and using new methods, systems, or equipment: · The company is trying to regain its position at the leading edge of biomedical research.· Developments in computer chip design are at the cutting edge of the technological revolution.
knowing about life, people, and the world · Paul liked to turn to more experienced people for advice.experienced in · My elder brother was a lot more experienced in these matters than I was.
informal if you say that someone has been around , you mean that they have had experience of many different situations and many different types of people and so they can deal with new situations confidently and easily: · When you've been around as long as I have you realize some things aren't worth getting upset about.have been around the block (a few times): · I've been around the block a few times, and I think I know when someone's trying to cheat me.
to be someone who knows a lot about life, has had a lot of different experiences etc and is not easily shocked by things: · Look, Ray, you're a man of the world - I'm sure you've been in situations like this before.
someone who is sophisticated has a lot of knowledge and experience of clever, fashionable things, and shows this by the way they talk and behave: · Everyone at the party was sophisticated and well-educated.· The play is intended for a sophisticated audience.
someone who is streetwise has had enough experience of life in big cities to know how to deal with difficult or dangerous people and situations: · Kids these days are much more streetwise than we ever were at their age.· Copeland is a streetwise cop who knows how to take care of himself.
having a lot of experience and knowledge about life and the practical rather than the moral reasons for people's actions: · For a priest he was surprisingly worldly.· She was much older and more worldly than I was.
: hardened criminal/cynic etc someone who has had a lot of experience dealing with difficult situations and is therefore less affected by them: · Even the most hardened criminal would have been shocked by the brutality of the crime.· Hardened foes of abortion are unlikely to be persuaded by her arguments.
someone who is hard-bitten has developed a hard, unsympathetic character because their experience of life has been difficult and unpleasant: · Miss Davies is not really the tough, hard-bitten businesswoman that she appears to be.· Jensen's experience in prison left him hard-bitten, cynical, and ruthless.
fashionable people someone who is fashionable wears fashionable clothes, owns fashionable things, and goes to fashionable places: · This is the latest style of hat worn by fashionable women in Milan.· I've never been very fashionable. I'd rather wear what feels comfortable.
informal fashionable -- use this especially about someone who you think tries too hard to be fashionable: · stylish South Beach cafés filled with trendy young couples· She only talks like that because she wants to sound trendy.
someone who is sophisticated knows a lot about fashionable things and feels confident about being with fashionable people: · a sophisticated woman whose friends included many rich and famous people· a play that will appeal to a sophisticated audience
someone who wears clothes that are fashionable, but that make them look silly: · a new designer who will appeal to fashion victims everywhere
having a lot of style or elegance · The room was full of stylish furniture and expensive paintings.· She was a stylish woman, always dressed to suit the occasion.
having an attractive and graceful appearance or way of moving, dressing etc, often in a way that is expensive: · The house was elegant and well kept.· Vienna is a city of grand public buildings and elegant private ones.· The elegant figure of Mr Reed appeared in the doorway.
having a confident and expensive appearance, and showing good judgement about what is artistic and fashionable: · She was glamorous and sophisticated, but seemed a little lonely.· Nothing beats black for the classic sophisticated look.suave and sophisticated: · The suave, sophisticated 60-year-old singer is still performing and drawing crowds.
informal attractively and expensively dressed, decorated, or prepared: · Their wedding was a very classy affair.· a classy restaurant· She's smart, witty, and classy.
style/elegance · What she lacked in looks she made up for with her sensational style.· It does not really have the style and elegance of other luxury hotels.with style · If you want a cellphone with style, this is the one for you.do something in style · The Thompsons always entertain in style.go out in style (=to finish something in a way that people admire) · Whitaker went out in style, beating Pernell comfortably.
an attractive and graceful appearance or way of doing something, that is often simple but expensive: · Marlene Dietrich was once the symbol of glamour and elegance.· buildings that reflect the elegance of a bygone era
a style that is based on confidence and wealth, and that shows an intelligent judgement about what is artistic and fashionable: · The capital city was once known as the centre of European culture and sophistication.· She was acutely aware of her own lack of sophistication.
a natural ability to do things in interesting and original ways: · As a player he had a lot of flair, but it didn't help him win.· a combination of British practicality and French flairwith flair: · The room's interior was designed with taste and flair.
a confident artistic manner that makes even the simple things you do seem interesting or exciting: with panache: · She wore her clothes with typical Italian panache.have panache: · The performance didn't have the panache you expect from a chart-topping rock band.
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY a highly sophisticated weapons system a New York nightclub that was the height of sophistication (=very fashionable and expensive)COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
1having a lot of experience of life, and good judgment about socially important things such as art, fashion etc: a highly sophisticated weapons system a New York nightclub that was the height of sophistication (=very fashionable and expensive)· He was a man of expensive tastes. (=he liked expensive things)
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADVERB· However, Q&A is by no means as sophisticated as either WordPerfect or WordStar.· Beneath that wild, impulsive exterior lurked as sophisticated a character as she was ever likely to encounter.· Why on earth should cats have any reactions at all to something as sophisticated as human music?· The problems they encounter in creating and interpreting them are as sophisticated and as complex as they come.· Fortunately technology has come to the rescue - the new Finesse styling aids range is as sophisticated and versatile as you are.· They're not as sophisticated as us.
· This is a fairly sophisticated performance, but it does not require a map.· Scatter counting is a fairly sophisticated skill for young children, and they will need lots of help and practice.· However, it may give rise to the necessity for a fairly sophisticated mathematical calculation if a conversion table is not published.· For instance, the method they used to prove the irrationality of was almost certainly a fairly sophisticated reductio ad absurdum.· The exposure value computed for the measurements is the result of fairly sophisticated calculations.· Such schemes are only suitable for fairly sophisticated investors.
· A highly sophisticated and well-read composer such as Britten could be expected to look for his own Hofmannsthal.· Some of these are highly sophisticated and provide almost complete control of the duty cycle over a 100 percent variation.· They are highly sophisticated, crammed with electronics, and often carry their own helicopter.· However, the emplacement vessel or platform would need to be highly sophisticated - perhaps a larger version of the Glomar Explorer.· For more exotic dinner parties this one, or at least for those of a highly sophisticated and refined palette!· Between them, those cells produce a highly sophisticated and intricate attack upon the source of infection.· They're highly sophisticated infra-red beams, virtually undetectable to the naked eye.· Dealers have been showered with complaints about this highly sophisticated piece of equipment which has apparently developed a serious fault.
· They are increasingly sophisticated machines, often using high quality aluminium and titanium alloys, spin offs from the aerospace industry.· The F-111s are ageing and their credibility as a deterrent depends upon their ability to penetrate increasingly sophisticated Soviet air defences.· The analytical techniques available to the bureaucracies of modern states are increasingly sophisticated.· But domestic capital investment grew markedly and the banking and credit system became increasingly sophisticated.· In the corporate and financial environment, numerically presented financial and survey data was subjected to increasingly sophisticated statistical and econometric analysis.· Car security systems are becoming increasingly sophisticated.· Their increasingly sophisticated tastes have been met in what has become the world's most popular man-made destination.
· At the same time, though less abrasive, the book is only intermittently less sophisticated than those that preceded it.· Their financial constraints are more severe and the credit facilities at their disposal are less diverse and less sophisticated.
· It is a considerably more sophisticated approach though, as should become clear, not without its flaws.· This is clearly a much more sophisticated analysis of the phenomena than the empirically invalidated instrumental account.· Herzberg developed a more sophisticated analysis of the significance of higher and lower order needs.· He also stressed the need for faster and more sophisticated vessels to combat modern smuggling by sea.· The real power of computerised data lies in a deeper, more sophisticated analysis of the information which already exists.· Topics can be revisited, when pupils are capable of greater understanding and a more sophisticated approach.· Equipment is more sophisticated, and more experience is required.· Even a later and more sophisticated age continued to enjoy them.
· But on few matters, it must be added, is even the most sophisticated economic and social comment more reticent.· But the shell-less ones survived and they became the most sophisticated and intelligent of all the molluscs, the squids and octopus.· The most sophisticated farmers are the leaf-cutting ants, which cultivate fungus on fresh vegetation thanks to an assembly-line of specialised castes.· The Wurzel is the most sophisticated and its inventor has studied heron behaviour and come up with a radical audible warn-off.· They required the most sophisticated communications technology so that they could transmit their stories and pictures back to their own countries.· Whitehead Mann's dynamic and determined style and no-nonsense approach have appealed to the most sophisticated users of search.· McClellan's is the most sophisticated approach yet designed towards solving these logistic problems.· With 36 dealing stations, it will be the largest and most sophisticated north of the border.
· This role is only just being appreciated by even quite sophisticated organizations.· The concepts therefore were for that age quite sophisticated, indeed quite sophisticated by many adults' standards as we have seen.
· To obtain anything like pure silver from a natural gold alloy involved a relatively sophisticated process of separation.· Indeed, the large number of relatively sophisticated geometric arrangements, is notable.· They were more influenced than their predecessors by consciously held and relatively sophisticated beliefs and less by unthinking traditional assumptions.· A second possibility is that the child is able to employ a set of relatively sophisticated strategies for analysing adult speech.· Included are appendices containing a certain amount of relatively sophisticated economic analysis - diagrams and algebra.
· Fortunately the technology of the food processing industry is now so sophisticated that infection from this source has been virtually eliminated.· Modern technology is now so sophisticated the microprocessor-based design of the teleprinter gives it enormous power and flexibility.· Newspaper technology is so sophisticated we can even make politicians say things they don't know they're saying.· Fortunately, the control mechanisms and procedures for flow processes are usually so sophisticated that the processes become automatically self-regulating.
· He thought she was too sophisticated not to know what she had there, but he was surprised all the same.· It never would, she was too sophisticated for him, and he was too clever for her.· But Skye was too sophisticated to encourage confidences.
· Something in the loch has produced some very peculiar sonar traces on some very sophisticated equipment, and that something demands explanation.· They made her feel very sophisticated.· This seemed a very sophisticated city.· Environment OS/2 is essentially an object orientated working environment that uses the 386 family of processors to allow very sophisticated multi-tasking.· De Levantiére has had her hair cut and it makes her look very sophisticated.· Much political theorising was therefore restricted to explicitly normative, though often very sophisticated, comparisons of different forms of elite rule.· It should have been very sophisticated.
NOUN· This is clearly a much more sophisticated analysis of the phenomena than the empirically invalidated instrumental account.· Herzberg developed a more sophisticated analysis of the significance of higher and lower order needs.· The real power of computerised data lies in a deeper, more sophisticated analysis of the information which already exists.· Broadsheets turned to long articles about general themes, campaign strategies and sophisticated analysis of opinion polls.· Only when the plays enter stabilising textual form do they become available for the type of sophisticated analysis critics undertake.· A more sophisticated analysis is presented by Kenneth Newton in his study of Birmingham.· Talk about the game requires no sophisticated analysis of systems and tactics, but rather a shared passion for its simplicities.· Perhaps, therefore, a more delicate and sophisticated analysis would be possible if different types of oddness were recognised?
· It is a considerably more sophisticated approach though, as should become clear, not without its flaws.· Topics can be revisited, when pupils are capable of greater understanding and a more sophisticated approach.· A more sophisticated approach fits different polynomials over different but overlapping terms to maturity.· During the late 1970s and early 1980s several innovative and more sophisticated approaches to smoking education in schools were developed and evaluated.· McClellan's is the most sophisticated approach yet designed towards solving these logistic problems.· A more sophisticated approach is to adopt a matrix structure which also examines horizontal relations.· A more sophisticated approach is required.· A second, more sophisticated approach, has the machine put plays in order according to the results of earlier evaluations.
· In fact there are so many that without the use of sophisticated computers it would be impossible to monitor them all.· Because the Z88 is a sophisticated computer which is capable of holding several programs in memory concurrently, this option has complications.· Darlington council has a sophisticated computer system to cope with the poll tax process.· In his latest book he tells of sophisticated computers that can move tall buildings in the opposite direction to the tremors.· Detectives, who believe more than one person is behind the attacks, are using a sophisticated computer system to aid their inquiry.
· Quite sophisticated equipment and trained manpower is required to make reliable estimates.· Something in the loch has produced some very peculiar sonar traces on some very sophisticated equipment, and that something demands explanation.· There is more at stake here than just bringing boxes of sophisticated equipment to remote areas.· The treatment of hazardous waste is particularly expensive and needs especially sophisticated equipment.· This method is more suitable for large farms with sophisticated equipment.· Dissolves can also be edited in but require the use of rather more sophisticated equipment than for simple fades.· And where they are legal, the operations require sophisticated equipment and highly-trained personnel to carry out the switch within 24 hours.· When more sophisticated equipment is called for they have often adapted things to suit their own particular needs.
· Some philosophers might suspect that I have not considered the behaviouristic theories in their most sophisticated form.· Motor abilities, perceptual skills and increasingly sophisticated forms of cognitive representation are all implicated in the mastery of spoken language.· This type of statistical work is about inferring things from the data and is really a sophisticated form of guesswork.
· Surely it would be better if time healed injuries, not sophisticated methods?· Access needed a technologically sophisticated method of intervention.· This technique, which requires extremely sophisticated methods of analysis, will always remain the province of the specialist.· Or perhaps more sophisticated methods are applied along the lines suggested by Friedman's permanent income hypothesis.· This, as any sophisticated method, demands some practice to perfect.· Research which has attempted to untangle these issues has not, by and large, employed sufficiently sophisticated methods to clarify the picture.· Next, the system contained a very sophisticated method of taxation and income redistribution.· The most sophisticated method of tying up land in strict settlement developed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
· The allocation was achieved by a sophisticated system of groups or units comprising one or more cities.· In a more sophisticated system, a subscriber can control the pulses from the videodisc player via a keyboard in his home.
· With brute force techniques ... they do achieve about the same end result as we do with much more sophisticated techniques.· Criticism by many research workers has led to the development of ancillary measures, involving more sophisticated techniques.· Useful results can often be achieved through simple analysis without resorting to the more sophisticated techniques.· They have been extensively researched and a wide range of sophisticated techniques have been used.· From 1938 television pulsed circuit and other sophisticated techniques were of increasing interest for the development of essential defence innovations.· Increasingly sophisticated techniques have been used to solve these problems.· But we do not need these sophisticated techniques to improve group effectiveness.
· In order to encourage this change as quickly as possible, foreign experts, accompanied by sophisticated technology, were introduced.
· And yet she subtly steered her boss towards a more sophisticated version of this.· A more sophisticated version of this type is the Tabriz loom, used primarily by workshop groups.· In this respect, his pluralism can be regarded as a more sophisticated version of monism.
a sophisticated, witty American Clarissa’s hair was swept up into a sophisticated style.2a sophisticated machine, system, method etc is very well designed and very advanced, and often works in a complicated way: sophisticated software a highly sophisticated weapons system3having a lot of knowledge and experience of difficult or complicated subjects and therefore able to understand them well: British voters have become much more sophisticated.► see thesaurus at advanced—sophistication /səˌfɪstɪˈkeɪʃən/ noun [uncountable]: a New York nightclub that was the height of sophistication (=very fashionable and expensive)