sophistication

so·phis·ti·ca·tion | \ sə-ˌfi-stə-ˈkā-shən

How to pronounce sophistication (audio)

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Definition of sophistication

1a : the use of sophistry : sophistic reasoning

b : sophism, quibble

2 : the process or result of becoming cultured, knowledgeable, or disillusioned especially : cultivation, urbanity

3 : the process or result of becoming more complex, developed, or subtle

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Examples of sophistication in a Sentence

the engine's sophistication requires that all repairs be done by an experienced mechanic

Recent Examples on the Web Criminal hackers also showed increased sophistication in 2019, according to Crowdstrike. — Alyza Sebenius, Bloomberg.com, "U.S. Adversaries Are Getting Even Better at Hacking, Crowdstrike Says," 10 May 2020 His films often showed a subtle sophistication beneath a seemingly simple premise and design. — Neil Genzlinger, BostonGlobe.com, "Gene Deitch, prolific animator," 26 Apr. 2020 Touchscreen controls, first rolled out on Earth in the late 1980s, were another signal of the Enterprise’s futuristic sophistication. — Laurence Scott, Wired, "Star Trek: Picard, Fancy Sheets, and the Meaning of Home," 28 Mar. 2020 Since 2001, physicians have explored remote procedures with greater sophistication. — Ryan Madder, Fortune, "Robot surgery could be the future of health care in remote areas," 12 Feb. 2020 At the show, he was struck by the level of sophistication as hundreds of Chinese stopped by his booth. — Margot Roosevelt, Los Angeles Times, "The latest casualty of Trump’s trade war with China? California wine," 18 Aug. 2019 This suggests that there's a high level of sophistication to this latest wave of fakers. — Sean Gallagher, Ars Technica, "Nigerian scammers slide into DMs, so Ars trolls them," 18 July 2019 The game offers all the nostalgia of playing the old Pokémon versions on a Nintendo Game Boy, but combined with the modern sophistication of a Nintendo Switch to create a new classic. — EW.com, "Don’t wait for Black Friday — Nintendo Switch’s most popular games are on sale right now," 23 Oct. 2019 France was always an object of fascination for my mother, as a place of unparalleled sophistication and elegance, of haute cuisine and couture. — San Francisco Chronicle, "Does a restaurant celebrating French colonialism belong in San Francisco?," 20 Sep. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sophistication.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

24 May 2020

Cite this Entry

“Sophistication.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sophistication. Accessed 29 May. 2020.

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