verb (used with object),so·phis·ti·cat·ed,so·phis·ti·cat·ing.
to make less natural, simple, or ingenuous; make worldly-wise.
to alter; pervert: to sophisticate a meaning beyond recognition.
verb (used without object),so·phis·ti·cat·ed,so·phis·ti·cat·ing.
to use sophistry; quibble.
Origin of sophisticate
1350–1400; Middle English (adj. and v.) <Medieval Latin sophisticātus (past participle of sophisticāre to tamper with, disguise, trick with words), equivalent to Latin sophistic(us) (see sophistic) + -ātus-ate1
OTHER WORDS FROM sophisticate
out·so·phis·ti·cate,verb (used with object),out·so·phis·ti·cat·ed,out·so·phis·ti·cat·ing.
Here we are in 1970s New York City, with a certain kind of sophisticate; someone must be wearing checked pants.
Renata Adler, Poet of a Chaotic Generation|Jen Vafidis|March 21, 2013|DAILY BEAST
He must needs try to sophisticate us by talking about "the doings of the gods."
Nineteenth Century Questions|James Freeman Clarke
As far as Clavering could see, she had every intention of making a Sophisticate night of it.
Black Oxen|Gertrude Franklin Horn Atherton
Ours is continually the task to civilize, to sophisticate, to refine this raw material.
Craftsmanship in Teaching|William Chandler Bagley
Ale was originally made from barley-malt and yeast alone, and those who put in anything else were held to sophisticate the liquor.
Cooley's Cyclopdia of Practical Receipts and Collateral Information in the Arts, Manufactures, Professions, and Trades..., Sixth Edition, Volume I|Arnold Cooley
Because the merit is an unreal merit, it does not corrupt or sophisticate his real merits.
All Things Considered|G. K. Chesterton
British Dictionary definitions for sophisticate
sophisticate
verb (səˈfɪstɪˌkeɪt)
(tr)to make (someone) less natural or innocent, as by education
to pervert or corrupt (an argument, etc) by sophistry
(tr)to make more complex or refined
rareto falsify (a text, etc) by alterations
noun (səˈfɪstɪˌkeɪt, -kɪt)
a sophisticated person
Derived forms of sophisticate
sophistication, nounsophisticator, noun
Word Origin for sophisticate
C14: from Medieval Latin sophisticāre, from Latin sophisticus sophistic