sophisticating

verb

present participle of sophisticate
1
as in complicating
to make complex or difficult there's no need to sophisticate something that is beautiful in its simplicity

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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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of sophisticating Logistically accelerating techno-economic interactivity crumbles social order in auto-sophisticating machine runaway. — James Duesterberg, New Yorker, 18 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for sophisticating
  1. complicating
  2. diluting
  3. intensifying
  4. cutting
  5. polluting
  6. loading
  7. manipulating
  8. infecting
Verb
  • Officials said strong winds, changing tides and notoriously difficult conditions around Alcatraz were complicating the operation.
    — James Ward, USA Today, 15 July 2026
  • Further complicating the process, even the expiration of the Microsoft certificate that signed the shims, which took place late last month, isn’t enough to revoke the ones ESET identified.
    — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 14 July 2026
Definition of complicating
Verb
  • Most experts recommend starting with 15-30 milliliters (mL), or 1-2 tablespoons, and diluting it with a full glass of water or tea.
    — Sarah Bradley, Health, 8 July 2026
  • Very few retailers have successfully built that progression without diluting individual brands.
    — Kate Hardcastle, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of diluting
Verb
  • Monsoon season and an intensifying El Niño are also underway and could bring more chances for rain to the region.
    — Julia Jacobo, ABC News, 13 July 2026
  • The rapid spread of chatbots and AI agents is intensifying a debate over who should be held responsible when something goes wrong.
    — Gerrit De Vynck, Washington Post, 13 July 2026
Definition of intensifying
Verb
  • The vibes at Wrigley should be stellar this weekend as the Champions Gate at Gallagher Way will be unveiled before Saturday’s game with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
    — LaMond Pope, Chicago Tribune, 17 July 2026
  • Rather than report on every float in this parade of horribles, the Chronicle of Higher Education, Inside Higher Ed and hirsute higher education observer Bryan Alexander have started cost-cutting trackers.
    — Ryan Craig, Forbes.com, 17 July 2026
Definition of cutting
Verb
  • Another study, published in Nature, found that Canadian wildfires in 2023, when more than 43 million acres burned, generated more emissions than the burning of fossil fuels in all but the three most-polluting countries.
    — Joshua Partlow, The Atlantic, 16 July 2026
  • The solution is to support federal and state legislation that encourages lower-cost, less-polluting renewable energy to speed up the transition away from environmentally damaging fossil fuels.
    — Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune, 29 June 2026
Definition of polluting
Verb
  • Riyadh has been diverting about four million barrels a day of crude oil from their east-west pipeline over to Yanbu, loading tankers, many of which are going out the Red Sea, data provided by Lipow showed.
    — Lee Ying Shan,Sam Meredith, CNBC, 14 July 2026
  • Add 1 cup of hydrogen peroxide to the washer drum or the automatic bleach dispenser before loading white clothes into the washer.
    — Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 14 July 2026
Definition of loading
Verb
  • This is by no means the first time that HAARP has been accused of controlling or manipulating the weather.
    — Emma Woollacott, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • After Cape Fear anchors us in those assurances, the men’s enmity continues manipulating our expectations and our beliefs.
    — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 26 June 2026
Definition of manipulating
Verb
  • Hendra virus typically passes from bats to horses before occasionally infecting humans.
    — William A. Haseltine, Forbes.com, 2 July 2026
  • And now, a new surge of toxicity is infecting modern masculinity.
    — Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 27 June 2026
Definition of infecting

Browse Nearby Words

sophisticates
sophisticating
sophistication
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Cite this Entry

“Sophisticating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/sophisticating. Accessed 20 Jul. 2026.

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