Definition of de facto
: in reality : actually
- became the leader de facto
- Trending Now: More Trending:
- hogwash probity sequacious inadmissible oligarch, pejorative
- ALL
What's Trending Now
More Trending Words
Origin and Etymology of de facto
borrowed from Medieval Latin, literally, "from the fact"
Definition of de facto
1
: actual;
especially
: being such in effect though not formally recognized
- a de facto state of war
- Whatever it says on the calendar, Florida has de facto summer.
- —E. L. Konigsburg
- has become the movement's de facto spokesperson
2
: exercising power as if legally constituted
- a de facto government
- the de facto head of state
3
: resulting from economic or social factors rather than from laws or actions of the state
- de facto segregation
Examples of de facto in a Sentence
with the death of his father, he became the de facto head of the family
Recent Examples of de facto from the Web
-
Noriega, however, was the de facto ruler of Panama, not the president, at the time of his indictment for taking millions in payoffs to make secure airstrips available to drug traffickers.
-
Hammond eliminated all low-track classes and then, to eradicate de facto ability grouping, carefully enrolled English Language Learners (ELLs) and students with special needs across the school’s classrooms.
-
Refusing to fund the procedure, the women argued, was a de facto ban on their right to decide for themselves.
-
Meche is the de facto spokesman for the crawfishermen.
-
My father came up through a time when the justice system was used as a de facto slavery for hundreds of thousands of black men in the South, and when lynching was still a very real threat.
-
Achieving de facto recognition as a nuclear state and joining the global community as a peer would be an audacious, unlikely transformation for long-suffering North Korea.
-
Mayor Koch called for a Charter Review Commission, tasked with rewriting the city’s de facto Constitution, and asked Frederick A.O. Schwarz, an heir to the former Fifth Avenue toy store, to lead it.
-
Throngs lined the streets of the East Bay’s de facto capital, sitting on bus stops, leaning out of windows, all screaming and chanting.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'de facto.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Origin and Etymology of de facto
derivative of 1de facto
NEW! Time Traveler
First Known Use: circa 1689
in the meaning defined at sense 1
See Words from the same yearde facto Synonyms
Antonyms
conjectural, hypothetical, ideal, inexistent, nonexistent, platonic, possible, potential, suppositional, theoretical (also theoretic);
Near Antonyms
alleged, assumed, reputed, supposed;
conceived, envisaged, envisioned, imagined, pictured, visualized;
chimerical (also chimeric), fabled, fanciful, fictional, fictitious, illusory, legendary;
fabricated, fake, imaginary, invented, made-up, make-believe, pretend, romantic;
Related Words
attested, authenticated, confirmed, demonstrated, established, proven, substantiated, valid, validated, verified;
incontestable, incontrovertible, indisputable, indubitable, inescapable, irrefutable, undeniable, unquestionable;
believable, convincing, literal, realistic, unmistakable, verifiable;
authentic, bona fide, real-life, real-world;
absolute, certain, final, hard, objective, palpable, positive, substantial, tangible;
Other Legal Terms
Law Dictionary
Origin and Etymology of de facto
Medieval Latin, literally, from the fact
legal Definition of de facto
1
: actual;
especially
: being such in effect though not formally recognized — see also de facto segregation at segregation
2
: exercising power as if legally constituted or authorized
- a de facto government
- a de facto judge
Learn More about de facto
-
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for de facto Nglish: Translation of de facto for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of de facto for Arabic speakers
Seen and Heard
What made you want to look up de facto? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).
