What is the meaning of so to speak?

adverb

  • As if it were really so.
    • usage: "she lives here, as it were"
  • In a manner of speaking.
    • usage: "the feeling is, as we say, quite dead"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
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APAWordNet. (2010). so to speak. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/so_to_speak/definitions/1253352
ChicagoWordNet. 2010. "so to speak" http://smartdefine.org/so_to_speak/definitions/1253352 (accessed September 20, 2026).
HarvardWordNet 2010, so to speak, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/so_to_speak/definitions/1253352>.
MLAWordNet. "so to speak" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/so_to_speak/definitions/1253352>