"Sought out" is a popular phrase that implies actively searching for someone or something. However, some alternative synonyms to replace this phrase are inquired, hunted, pursued, explored, scouted, and sought-after. Each of these words gives a slightly different connotation, but they all share the same meaning of actively seeking after someone or something. "Inquired" implies a specific questioning effort, "hunted" implies a more intense and urgent search, and "pursued" implies more effort in actually chasing the target. "Explored" and "scouted" suggest a more exploratory nature to the search, while "sought-after" implies desirability of the target rather than the effort to find it.