Wiktionary:Word of the day/2022/December 9

edit · refresh · view Word of the day for December 9

sophisticate v

(transitive) To make (something) less innocent or natural; to artificialize. To make (something) more sophisticated (“complex, developed, or refined”); to develop, to refine. (also reflexive) To make (oneself or someone) more sophisticated (“experienced in the ways of the world, that is, cosmopolitan or worldly-wise”); to cosmopolitanize. (also figuratively) To alter and make impure (something) by mixing it with some foreign or inferior substance, especially with an intention to deceive; to adulterate; (generally) to corrupt or deceive (someone, their thinking, etc.). To change the meaning of (something) in a deceptive or misleading way. (archaic) To apply an artificial technique to (something). (intransitive) To practise sophistry (“the (deliberate) making of arguments that seem plausible but are fallacious or misleading”). [...]

← yesterday | About Word of the Day • Nominate a word • Leave feedback | tomorrow →