1
as in complicating
to make complex or difficult
there's no need to sophisticate something that is beautiful in its simplicity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in diluting
to alter (something) for the worse with the addition of foreign or lower-grade substances
vanilla extract that has been sophisticated with corn syrup
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of sophisticating
Logistically accelerating techno-economic interactivity crumbles social order in auto-sophisticating machine runaway.
—
James Duesterberg, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
James Duesterberg, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sophisticating
Verb
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The amount also varies over time, further complicating the estimates.—
Ian James,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
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But that also added another, complicating layer to the pseudo-friendship the two had off screen.—
Alex Ross,
PEOPLE,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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What’s more, the suit alleges that management and company affiliates enriched themselves — through operating fees, development fees, property-management and leasing fees, reimbursements and insider-favoring transactions — while diluting investor equity.—
Jennifer Van Grove,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
8 Apr. 2026
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Ratings often split between broadcasts, diluting the audience rather than expanding it.—
Rowan Fisher-Shotton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Mar. 2026
Verb
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This is an unsustainable path if the state hopes to avoid cutting health, education and other priorities.—
Sun Sentinel Editorial Board,
Sun Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
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Another option is to remove some of the pups, by cutting under the plants, and gathering the leaves with roots.—
Tom MacCubbin,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Israeli officials and military leaders have recently sounded the alarm over intensifying violence and lawlessness by extremist settlers in the occupied West Bank, where arsons and deadly attacks have continued unabated.—
Sam Metz,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Apr. 2026
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The company has faced intensifying competition from TikTok and continues to battle longtime rivals in social media including Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.—
Dade Hayes,
Deadline,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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To some extent, nearly every gas station is polluting the ground beneath it, experts say.—
Ashley Miznazi,
Miami Herald,
9 Apr. 2026
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Millions of gallons a day of raw, untreated sewage and industrial waste flows north through the Tijuana River, across the border, into the Tijuana River Estuary and out into the Pacific — polluting the air as well.—
Walker Armstrong,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
5 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Below in the courtyard where the big choppers had been loading, the headlights from the cars and trucks surrounding the parking lot were still on to light the way for the choppers.—
Louis Menand,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Wills said focusing on ships directly loading from or headed to Iranian ports would be more straightforward than a broader effort targeting vessels that may have paid transit tolls.—
Steve Beynon,
ABC News,
13 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Clayton Seigle, a senior fellow in the Energy Security and Climate Change Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told ABC News that spoofing or manipulating the tracking system can obscure a vessel's origins, destination and cargo.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
16 Apr. 2026
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Of course, Butcher does a lot of blatant manipulating here, using Ryan’s insecurity about his deadly powers to convince him the world is better without supes altogether.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
15 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The duo’s follow-up project Los Frikis, a drama based on true events about group of punk rockers in ’90s Cuba who cultivate a utopian refuge from society after deliberately infecting themselves with HIV, was similarly lauded.—
Matt Grobar,
Deadline,
30 Mar. 2026
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To pursue that work, Sassetti’s NIH grant paid for collecting blood samples from people in Lima, Peru — who carry a unique immune gene — and then infecting their cells with TB in the lab.—
Megan Molteni,
STAT,
27 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Sophisticating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sophisticating. Accessed 16 Apr. 2026.
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