Synonym Chooser

How is the word unsophisticated different from other adjectives like it?

Some common synonyms of unsophisticated are artless, ingenuous, naive, and natural. While all these words mean "free from pretension or calculation," unsophisticated implies a lack of experience and training necessary for social ease and adroitness.

unsophisticated adolescents

Where would artless be a reasonable alternative to unsophisticated?

While in some cases nearly identical to unsophisticated, artless suggests a naturalness resulting from unawareness of the effect one is producing on others.

artless charm

When would ingenuous be a good substitute for unsophisticated?

The meanings of ingenuous and unsophisticated largely overlap; however, ingenuous implies inability to disguise or conceal one's feelings or intentions.

the ingenuous enthusiasm of children

When is naive a more appropriate choice than unsophisticated?

The words naive and unsophisticated can be used in similar contexts, but naive suggests lack of worldly wisdom often connoting credulousness and unchecked innocence.

politically naive

When might natural be a better fit than unsophisticated?

While the synonyms natural and unsophisticated are close in meaning, natural implies lacking artificiality and self-consciousness and having a spontaneousness suggesting the natural rather than the man-made world.

her unaffected, natural manner

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 unsophisticated During arguments on Wednesday, Megan Savard — attorney for Carter Hart — said that Howden was an unsophisticated, inarticulate witness who didn’t even dress properly for court. Dan Robson, New York Times, 22 May 2025 Kate Rockwell is sweet and wide-eyed as the kind but unsophisticated Jane. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 Apr. 2025 The group writes its malware in relatively unsophisticated scripting languages like VBScript and Powershell rather than the C++ used by savvier hackers. Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 14 Apr. 2025 Each of those words is unsophisticated alone and devastating when strung together. Joel Stein, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for unsophisticated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for unsophisticated
Adjective
  • Even Portugal, who have been naive defensively but have considerable pace in attack, could threaten in transition, and Italy will need to shore up that element of their game to avoid being caught out.
    Cerys Jones, New York Times, 4 July 2025
  • How did an obscure, scientifically naive mining society discover the wheel, when highly advanced civilizations, such as the ancient Egyptians, did not?
    Kai James, JSTOR Daily, 3 July 2025
Adjective
  • Nearby is the kitchen, which is compact and simple as standard.
    New Atlas, New Atlas, 11 July 2025
  • Chris wore a simple navy blue polo shirt and khaki shorts combo, while Alexa showed off her growing bump in a white and blue floral dress — along with an Olympic logo necklace to complete her maternity style.
    Kayla Grant, People.com, 11 July 2025
Adjective
  • But the alternative is much worse: a world where the loss of innocent life is treated as inescapable, where no calamity can be prevented or bad situation reformed.
    Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 14 July 2025
  • Comprehensive cell phone analysis can be just as powerful in clearing innocent drivers by proving no user interaction occurred.
    Lars Daniel, Forbes.com, 14 July 2025
Adjective
  • Houde said these mammoth animals are a primitive group of proboscideans ('elephantoids') from which modern elephants evolved.
    Joseph J. Kolb, Fox News, 18 July 2017
  • Many are primitive and remote, and don’t have restrooms or water.
    OregonLive.com, OregonLive.com, 12 July 2017
Adjective
  • There are three immature stages that are black and white, with the fourth stage being red, black and white before becoming adults later in the summer.
    Kaycee Sloan, The Enquirer, 14 July 2025
  • To be effective the spray has to cover the immature stages.
    Tom MacCubbin, The Orlando Sentinel, 5 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Unsophisticated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/unsophisticated. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on unsophisticated

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