so

so¹

/soh/, adv.

1. in the way or manner indicated, described, or implied: Do it so.

2. in that or this manner or fashion; thus: So it turned out.

3. in the aforesaid state or condition: It is broken and has long been so.

4. to the extent or degree indicated or suggested: Do not walk so fast.

5. Informal. very or extremely: I'm so sad.

6. very greatly: My head aches so!

7. (used before an adverb or an adverbial clause and fol. by as) to such a degree or extent: so far as I know.

8. having the purpose of: a speech so commemorating the victory.

9. for this or that reason; hence; therefore: She is ill, and so cannot come to the party.

10. (used as an affirmative to emphasize or confirm a previous statement) most certainly: I said I would come, and so I will.

11. (used as an emphatic affirmative to contradict a previous statement) indeed; truly; too: I was so at the party!

12. likewise or correspondingly; also; too: If he is going, then so am I.

13. in such manner as to follow or result from: As he learned, so did he teach.

14. in the way that follows; in this way: The audience was seated, and so the famous speech began.

15. in the way that precedes; in that way: So ended the speech, and the listeners arose and cheered.

16. in such way as to end in: So live your life that old age will bring you no regrets.

17. then; subsequently: and so to bed.

18. so much as, even: He doesn't so much as say hello to me.

19. so as,

a. with the result or purpose: to turn up the volume of the radio so as to drown out the noise from the next apartment.

b. Older Use. provided that: I like any flower, just so as it's real.

20. only or just so many, being a limited or small number or amount: I can eat only so many pieces of fruit.

21. only or just so much, being a limited amount or quantity; up to a certain point or maximum: I can eat only so much fruit; just so much that one can do in such a case.

22. so to speak. See speak (def. 20).

23. so what? See what (def. 17).

conj.

24. in order that (often fol. by that): Check carefully, so any mistakes will be caught.

25. with the result that (often fol. by that): He checked carefully, so that the mistakes were caught.

26. on the condition that; if.

pron.

27. such as has been stated: to be good and stay so.

28. something that is about or near the persons or things in question, as in number or amount: Of the original twelve, five or so remain.

29. so much,

a. something, as an amount or cost, that is not specified or determined: The carpeting is priced at so much per yard.

b. all that is or needs to be said or done: So much for the preliminaries, let's get down to the real issues.

interj.

30. (used as an exclamation of surprise, shock, discovery, inquiry, indifference, etc., according to the manner of utterance.)

adj.

31. true as stated or reported; conforming with reality or the fact: Say it isn't so.

[bef. 900; ME; OE swa; c. D zoo, G so, Goth swa]

Syn. 9. See therefore.

Usage. 5. The intensive SO meaning "very or extremely" (Everything's so expensive these days) occurs chiefly in informal speech. In writing and formal speech, intensive SO is most often followed by a completing that clause: Everything is so expensive that some families must struggle just to survive.

24, 25. The conjunction SO (often followed by THAT) introduces clauses both of purpose (We ordered our tickets early so that we could get good seats) and of result (The river had frozen during the night so people walked across it all the next day). In formal speech and writing, SO THAT is somewhat more common than SO in clauses of purpose. Otherwise, either SO or SO THAT is standard.

Like AND, BUT¹, and OR, SO can occur as a transitional word at the beginning of a sentence: So all our hard work finally brought results. See also as¹, and, but¹.

so²

/soh/, n. Music.

sol¹.

* * *