sophomoric

S1O1P3H4O1M3O1R1I1C3
UK/sɒfəˈmɒɹɪk/UK/sɒfəˈmɔːɹɪk/US/sɑf(ə)ˈmɑɹɪk/US/sɑf(ə)ˈmɔːɹɪk/

adjective

Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sophomore.

“sophomoric affectation”

OriginEnglish sophomore ← Ancient Greek σόφισμα (sóphisma) →
UncommonScrabble 19
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

adjectivesophomoric (comparative more sophomoric, superlative most sophomoric)

comparative more sophomoric · superlative most sophomoric

  1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of a sophomore.
  2. Conceited and overconfident of knowledge but poorly informed and immature.

    The editors agree with that “and make that puerile, sophomoric, and jejune too,” says Beard.

    1972 October 12, Mopsy Strange Kennedy, “Juvenile, puerile, sophomoric, jejune, nutty‐and funny”, in The New York Times
  3. Pretentious; inflated in style or manner.

    sophomoric affectation

Origin

  1. Ancient Greekσοφός (sophós)
  2. Ancient Greekσοφίζω (sophízō)
  3. Ancient Greekσόφισμα (sóphisma)
  4. Englishsophum, sophom
  5. Englishsophumer
  6. Englishsophomore
  7. Englishsophomoric

From sophomore + -ic.

Full word history & related roots →

Rhymes & wordplay

Anagrams

osmophoric
Cite this entry
APA

sophomoric. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sophomoric

MLA

“sophomoric.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sophomoric. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “sophomoric,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/sophomoric.

Source: sophomoric on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.