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I considered 'self-proclaimed' but that, I believe, suggests an element of self-promotion (the proclamation aspect) whereas soi-disant, at least as I think of it, is more about self-presentation and in some contexts self-deceit.

Tom Hughes
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I think "self-styled" would be the closest match.

bye
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Suggestions:

  • self-styled: this is the phrase used in the first definition on Wiktionary, dictionary.com, Wordnet, etc.

  • self-proclaimed: this is used in Merriam-Webster. And I don't think that "self-proclaimed" necessarily implies self-promotion.

  • soi-disant itself: It is used in English, though it's a bit rare these days. (Actually I only recall encountering it in a Saki short story: "the soi-disant aunt".)

  • A thesaurus gives "alleged, allegedly, commonly named, formal, titular, nominal, ostensible, pretended, professed, purported, self-named, self-styled, soi-disant" — most of them don't work, though self-professed would.

ShreevatsaR
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All of "self-styled", "so-called" and "supposed" work well. Which one you choose just depends on the context and personal preference.

Derek Jennings
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I think it would help to give an example sentence. I confess, I've never heard soi-disant used in English. But in French, it is used in three ways:

  • attributed to people who actually can proclaim themselves to be something: in this case self-proclaiming or synonyms would cover the meaning;
  • attributed to inanimate objects that can't actually speak/proclaim anything: in this case, alleged, so-called would cover the meaning;
  • as an adverb, in which case allegedly, supposedly would work in English.
Neil Coffey
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Literally word for word 'soi-disant' in French would be 'self saying' or more closely 'self-called'.

But the word is now native English (a borrowing) like 'a la mode' or 'frisson'. 'Soi-disant' has a formal or affected air to it (like other obscurantist borrowings).

In English it means two related things (see online definitions)

  • 'self-styled' (labeled by oneself and so suspect from bias)
  • 'so-called' (implying that the following label is not accurate)

The latter is both the more common interpretation since it includes the former semantically. It is a common thing to say in speech (along with 'so-called') in order to convey the same meaning as the much more informal 'quote unquote' or use fingers for air-quotes in order to make obvious that one is using a term sarcastically or that the one who chose the label for themselves is hypocritical. Whether so-called or self-styled, it is as M-W says "a disparaging term for someone who styles or fancies him- or herself in some role".

So 'self-styled' (or other variations) will serve your purposes, but be aware it is more likely to be understood as hypocritically referring to oneself, but rather as a sarcastic label by others.

Mitch
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In French there are two uses of the expression. Adjectival to describe a person in a pejorative sense, self-proclaimed usually ironic, and, adverbial, in the sense of supposedly. If a lunatic believed himself to be Napoleon, to call him a soi-disant Napoleon would be wrong because the irony is missing. To use it adverbially would be in criticism of a usual expectation, he came soi-disant to fix the ariel but stole the television.

ank
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how about "self-appointed"? Or "so-called," depending on the context? "Alleged" might work, too.

  • Both of these have negative connotations (unless the person in question has an entitlement to appoint himself/herself to a real position). You can, for instance, style yourself a bon vivant or raconteur in order to help others get a handle on your personality without claiming anything to which you are not entitled. "So-called" and "self-appointed" automatically put the truth of the claim in dispute. – bye Feb 17 '11 at 22:01
  • +1 for "alleged". @bye I think that "soi-disant" does have a negative connotation -- someone who is "soi-disant" (i.e. calling himself) something good like a "raconteur" is saying so (about themselves) only because nobody else believes/says that. – ChrisW Jun 28 '13 at 19:40
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Soi-disant(e) is used in French to describe that a person is pretending something that he is not (in this context). giving himself more credit than he deserves and that would be obvious to the other person listening to him. for example: a person would say I did this, I did that, this should be done this way .... and of course you know that this person is not capable of doing anything of what he claims, and that he is only showing off to impress others.

James
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