Definition of SOPHOMORIC

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Sophomores get a bad rap. A lot of people seem to think they're foolish (no matter what they do), when they know they're pretty wise. The history of the words sophomore and sophomoric (which developed from sophomore) proves that it has always been tough to be a sophomore. Those words probably come from a combination of the Greek terms sophos (which means "wise") and mōros (which means "foolish"). But sophomores can take comfort in the fact that some very impressive words, including philosopher and sophisticated, are also related to sophos.

Examples of sophomoric in a Sentence

His behavior at the party was sophomoric.

Recent Examples on the Web Sadly, Truth Be Told doesn’t seem to have much to say on their plight that superior predecessors including Netflix’s hilariously sophomoric true-crime mockumentary American Vandal haven’t already covered. — Judy Berman, Time, "True Crime Drama Truth Be Told Isn't a Disaster—But It's Everything That's Wrong With Apple TV+," 3 Dec. 2019 Yet there’s no better example of the genius of Big Mouth—a comedy that nails the sophomoric physical humor of preadolescence but whose hilarious portrait of puberty is really a mirror held up to adult sexuality—more than what follows. — Judy Berman, Time, "WHAT IS THE FUEL OF THE FUTURE?," 4 Oct. 2019 Jones makes a sophomoric effort to dress the question up, but this is the eternal politics of cooties. — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, "Not Enemies, But Friends," 27 Oct. 2019 Otherwise, most of the attempts at character moments feel forced and sophomoric in a way that would probably make the average teenager groan. — Kyle Orland, Ars Technica, "Borderlands 3 is a lot more Borderlands, in ways both good and bad," 17 Sep. 2019 In a locker room culture in which sarcasm often serves as a second language for adolescents, Brendan helped translate for his brother, whose sense of humor was less sophomoric than most teens. — David Haugh, chicagotribune.com, "How hockey helps a collegiate player cope with autism: ‘When I get out on the ice, I always have felt I could be my true authentic self'," 25 June 2019 The town is filled with stereotypical athleisure-wearing moms whose conversations border on the sophomoric. — Mary Cadden, USA TODAY, "'Prada' sequel moves to Greenwich, Conn., bland land of athleisure wear," 5 June 2018 The book is still a sophomoric mess, and the 17 songs, which are mostly either fast or rather less so, are lively but unvaried. — Terry Teachout, WSJ, "‘Straight White Men’ and ‘Head Over Heels’ Reviews: All Identity, All the Time," 26 July 2018 The story centers on the Bottom brothers (yes, their surname is key to a sophomoric joke or two), 16th-century playwrights who struggle to create a hit under the shadow of William Shakespeare, who’s adored like a rock god. — Matthew J. Palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "As 'Something Rotten!' says, 'Nothing's as amazing as a musical'," 25 Apr. 2018

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