soi-disant
Americanadjective
-
calling oneself thus; self-styled.
-
so-called or pretended.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of soi-disant
First recorded in 1750–60; from French: literally, “calling oneself”; soi “oneself,” from Latin sē ( self ( def. ) ); disant “saying,” present participle of dire “to say, tell,” from Latin dīcere “to say, speak, tell” ( diction ( def. ) )
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.
That goes double for soi-disant documentaries that test the viewer's credulity.
From The Guardian • Dec. 16, 2010
Just to make assurance doubly ironclad, Secretary of State Frank Billings Kellogg told correspondents that "under no circumstances" would the State Department recognize the soi-disant and really nonexistent Valenzuela government.
From Time Magazine Archive
Last week they fooled the guessers and went again, beamed from the "Royal Box" of the soi-disant "Theatre Royal in Drury Lane," while a frantic audience waved programs and sang "God Save the King."
From Time Magazine Archive
Furthermore moneyed Baron Tanaka has persuaded 29 of the Minseito opposition Deputies to bolt their party under Takejiro Tokonami and set themselves up as soi-disant independents.
From Time Magazine Archive
Well, that was the finding of the soi-disant Jack Dillamore.
From My Lord Duke by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)
Definitions 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.
