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Synonyms

so-called

American  
[soh-kawld] / ˈsoʊˈkɔld /

adjective

  1. called or designated thus.

    the so-called Southern bloc.

  2. incorrectly called or styled thus.

    so-called intellectuals.


so-called British  

adjective

    1. (prenominal) designated or styled by the name or word mentioned, esp (in the speaker's opinion) incorrectly

      a so-called genius

    2. ( also used parenthetically after a noun )

      these experts, so-called, are no help

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of so-called

First recorded in 1650–60

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

England concluded the so-called 'Send-Off Series' before the World Cup with defeat against Japan at Wembley.

From BBC

An index of the so-called Magnificent Seven tech giants remains nearly 17% below the all-time highs it reached in late October and is at risk of slipping into bear-market territory in the coming weeks.

From Barron's

The company recently ditched its much-hyped Sora video app, and is looking at other areas to cut so it can focus its efforts on building so-called productivity tools, particularly coding assistants.

From The Wall Street Journal

Demand for so-called discretionary items like clothing and shoes has suffered disproportionately as a result.

From MarketWatch

A so-called “innovation exemption” could give crypto firms the temporary ability to do things such as issue and trade tokenized securities without full registration as brokers or exchanges.

From Barron's