sophisticate
Urbane, polished individual
A sophisticate is someone worldly, cultured, and knowledgeable about refined things—art, fashion, cuisine, social customs.
The word implies experience and discernment: She moved through the gallery like a true sophisticate.
To sophisticate something is to make it more complex or refined, though this verb form is rare outside of the past participle sophisticated, which describes both people and things that are elegantly complex or not naive.
Culturally sophisticated, internationally fluent
- connoisseurExpert in matters of taste
- urbaniteMetropolitan resident
- bon vivantConnoisseur of life's pleasures
- jet-setterWealthy frequent traveler
aficionado · trendsetter · fashionista · socialite · intellectual · gourmand · savant · cognoscente
Remove impurities from
- polishSmooth by rubbing
- elevateTo raise upward
- cultivateGrow or develop purposefully
- enhanceIncrease in quality
perfect · hone · finesse · civilize · urbanize · groom · develop · mature
Elegance of manner
- eleganceRefined, graceful quality
- polishSmooth by rubbing
- graceEffortless beauty of motion
- suavityPolished social manner
urbanity · finesse · class · style · poise · debonair · suave · chic
State of being complicated
- nuanceSlight shade of difference
- subtletyFine distinction, easily missed
- intricacyState of elaborate complexity
- elaborationDevelopment through detail
layered · multifaceted · advanced · intricate · complicated · elaborate · developed · evolved
Corrupt by adding impurities
- corruptDishonest, open to bribes
- contaminateMake unclean or unsafe
- taintMake impure
- doctorLicensed medical healer
tamper · debase · dilute · alter · falsify · manipulate · pervert · compromise
cosmopolitan
Culturally sophisticated, internationally fluent
- connoisseurExpert in matters of taste
- urbaniteMetropolitan resident
- bon vivantConnoisseur of life's pleasures
jet-setter · aficionado · trendsetter · fashionista · socialite · intellectual · gourmand · savant · cognoscente · aesthete
refine
Remove impurities from
enhance · perfect · hone · finesse · civilize · urbanize · groom · develop · mature · season
refinement
Elegance of manner
suavity · urbanity · finesse · class · style · poise · debonair · suave · chic · savoir-faire
complexity
State of being complicated
- nuanceSlight shade of difference
- subtletyFine distinction, easily missed
- intricacyState of elaborate complexity
elaboration · layered · multifaceted · advanced · intricate · complicated · elaborate · developed · evolved · mature
adulterate
Corrupt by adding impurities
- corruptDishonest, open to bribes
- contaminateMake unclean or unsafe
- taintMake impure
doctor · tamper · debase · dilute · alter · falsify · manipulate · pervert · compromise · degrade
- fashion stylescasual wear, bohemian, formal wear, preppy, romantic
- sophisticatesconnoisseur, aesthete, bon vivant, cosmopolitan, aficionado
- snobssnob, elitist, snoot, prig, highbrow
- pleasure seekershedonist, hedonists, pleasure seeker, pleasure seekers, pleasure-seeker
- aesthetesOscar Wilde, dandy, connoisseur, art lover, Baudelaire
sophisticaterube
Naive country person
bumpkin · hick · yokel · country bumpkin · rustic
sophisticatesimplify
Make less complex
streamline · uncomplicate · untangle · disentangle · unravel
sophisticated, unsophisticated, sophistication, sophistical, sophisticates