de jure

adverb or adjective

1
: by right : of right
2
: based on laws or actions of the state
de jure segregation

Did you know?

Coming straight from Latin, de jure is a term used mostly, but not always, in legal writing. Sometimes it's not enough to have something written into law; if a law isn't enforced, it might as well not exist. And if ordinary citizens are too scared of what would happen to them if they exercised their rights, then they don't really have those rights at all. Unfortunately, many countries have constitutions and laws that sound good but turn out not to have much effect. So de jure is almost always used in contrast to something else; its opposite is de facto.

Examples of de jure in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Fresh, as in their acidity holds up, providing structure, purity and balance to an expression of Chardonnay (the de facto and de jure white grape of the region) that would frankly startle enthusiasts of the heavy-oak, big-fruit characteristics of much Chardonnay from California. Cathy Huyghe, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Neither Netanyahu nor Biden seem willing or able to slow this determined effort at de facto and de jure annexation of the West Bank. Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2023 Somehow, water contamination and air pollution in poor communities are tantamount to the de jure segregation of schools during the 20th century. Caleb Nunes, National Review, 8 Sep. 2023 And President Biden’s relatively timid rhetoric has been hammered by Republican opponents, who have yoked themselves to the mast of a far-right Israel government that makes little attempt to hide its aims to carry out de facto — perhaps even de jure — annexation of Palestinian lands. Ishaan Tharoor, Washington Post, 25 July 2023 Traveling even short distances can mean encountering fraught borders, de jure or not. Seyward Darby, Longreads, 19 July 2023 Implied in this formulation is that China can live with the status quo—a de facto, but not de jure, independent Taiwan—in perpetuity. Oriana Skylar Mastro, Foreign Affairs, 3 June 2021 China has steadily mounted political and military pressure on Taiwan to deter the DPP from making moves toward de jure secession. Wang Jisi, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021 The Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause generally forbids de jure racial discrimination. Matt Ford, The New Republic, 29 June 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'de jure.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of de jure was in 1611

Dictionary Entries Near de jure

Cite this Entry

“De jure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/de%20jure. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Legal Definition

de jure

adverb or adjective
1
: by right : of right
a de jure officer
2
: in accordance with law see also de jure segregation at segregation compare de facto
Etymology

Medieval Latin, literally, from the law

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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