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Definition of "so-called" []

  • Commonly called: "new buildings ... in so-called modern style” ( Graham Greene). (adjective)
  • Incorrectly or falsely termed: My so-called friends were gossiping about me again. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "so-called" in a sentence
  • "'If there were any lingering doubts concerning the status and integrity of the Palestinian National Authority -- and its so-called President, Mahmoud Abbas (\ "so-called\" because his term of office, such as it was, expired almost a year ago) -- they were surely dispelled once and for all by its decision to drop its support for a UN resolution that would have referred the Goldstone Report on Israel\'s post-Christmas 2008 attack on Gaza to the UN Security Council."
  • "I usually resist the term "so-called," but it's appropriate here because this amendment is not about balancing the budget."
  • ""From your repeated use of the phrase 'so-called anomalies,' can I assume that your observations have suggested a more useful or more accurate term?""