so-called is on the Academic Word List.

Adjective

change

Positive
so-called

Comparative
none

Superlative
none

  1. When someone uses the word "so-called" to talk about something, they mean that other people talk about the thing that way, but they don't agree.
    When are we going to leave this so-called party? (The person saying this thinks it should not be called a party. Probably they think the party is not fun.)