so-called
Americanadjective
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called or designated thus.
the so-called Southern bloc.
-
incorrectly called or styled thus.
so-called intellectuals.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of so-called
First recorded in 1650–60
Explanation
When you say someone is a so-called pacifist, you are suggesting that they are a pacifist in name only. While they are busy making everyone talk about how peaceful they are, chances are they're also bombing villages to dust. Using the word so-called is a great way to point out systemic hypocrisy and is a much-beloved tool of street preachers and conspiracy cranks the world over. They might talk about our so-called democracy being in fact a sham, and our so-called democratic elections being rigged by forces beyond our control.
Vocabulary lists containing so-called
Booked
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The Losers Club
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We Are Displaced
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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.
The Savannah Bananas embarked on their first so-called world tour five years ago.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
One new model, dubbed Nemotron 3.5 Super VL, is designed to help businesses build so-called always-on AI agents, and is faster for long-running agentic tasks, Nvidia said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
The forestry department in the same statement said there was a significant jump in hotspots in several areas in six "priority provinces" where 615 so-called hotspots were detected.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
He previously said he would agree to the so-called "energy ceasefire" announced by US President Donald Trump on Sunday if Moscow also abided by it.
From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026
Mother and I had a so-called “discussion” today, but the annoying part is that I burst into tears.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
