antisophistication
|an-ti-so-phis-ti-ca-tion|
🇺🇸
/ˌæn.tiˌsoʊ.fɪs.tɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
🇬🇧
/ˌæn.tiˌsɒf.ɪs.tɪˈkeɪ.ʃən/
against sophistication; favoring simplicity
Etymology
'antisophistication' is a modern English formation combining the prefix 'anti-' (from Greek 'anti' meaning 'against') with 'sophistication' (from French/Latin roots related to 'sophisticate').
'sophistication' developed from 'sophisticate' (17th century), via French 'sophistiquer' and ultimately connected to Greek 'sophistēs' ('wise man' or 'sophist'); the prefix 'anti-' was later attached in modern English to create a negated compound.
Originally roots related to 'sophist' suggested skill or cleverness; over time 'sophistication' came to mean worldly refinement or complexity, and 'antisophistication' now denotes opposition to that refinement.
Meanings by Part of Speech
Noun 1
the attitude or practice of opposing or rejecting sophistication; a preference for simplicity, plainness, or lack of worldly refinement.
Her antisophistication was clear: she preferred hand-stitched shirts and unadorned furniture over designer labels.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Noun 2
a deliberate cultural or aesthetic movement that rejects fashionable, technical, or urbane refinement in favor of perceived authenticity or naïveté.
The magazine celebrated antisophistication, promoting craftspeople and low-tech techniques as an aesthetic choice.
Synonyms
Antonyms
Last updated: 2025/09/10 11:18