in so many words

Idioms  

1. In those precise words; also, plainly, directly. For example, He didn't tell me in so many words, but I understood that he planned to apply, or, as Charles Dickens put it in Sketches by “Boz” (1836): “That the Lord Mayor had threatened in so many words to pull down the London Bridge.” [Late 1600s]

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

in so many words

No provision of the Constitution says in so many words that Congress may not compel state officials to carry out federal law-enforcement responsibilities or to enact legislation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Allegedly, Romanians saw an American oil tycoon enjoying easy access to nice cars and other possessions and thought, in so many words, "Why can't that be me?"

From Salon ● Apr. 11, 2025

Chushcoff said it seemed to him that in so many words, she had suggested jurors ignore the evidence and convict the officers.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 13, 2023

His very brief “Why Doug?” page on his website says this in so many words.

From Slate ● Aug. 23, 2023

My mom would never tell me she loved me in so many words.

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

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