de facto

adverb

de fac·to | \di-ˈfak-(ˌ)tō,

dā-, dē-\

Definition of de facto

(Entry 1 of 2)

: in reality : actually became the leader de facto

de facto

adjective

Definition of de facto (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about de facto

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Examples of de facto in a Sentence

Adjective

with the death of his father, he became the de facto head of the family

Recent Examples on the Web: Adjective

Investors are now asking whether OPEC—de facto led by Saudi Arabia—still has the power to rebalance an oversupplied oil market and boost prices that have fallen by more than 30% since hitting four-year highs in October. — Christopher Alessi, WSJ, "Oil Slides After OPEC Delays Decision on Level of Output Cuts," 6 Dec. 2018 If Saudi Arabia, the de facto leader of OPEC, agrees to such a plan (Trump has been pressuring it not to), that would likely boost prices. — Emily Stewart, Vox, "Now that the stock market is down, Trump wants to take credit for oil prices," 27 Nov. 2018 The event calendar is one piece of the company’s new vision for its stores to act as de facto town squares. — Andrew Zaleski, Curbed, "Can Apple stores be public spaces?," 3 Oct. 2018 With the AirPod, everyone might become a de facto secret agent, people or machines mouthing additional information into the ear directly, unnoticed. — Ian Bogost, The Atlantic, "Apple's Airpods Are an Omen," 12 June 2018 The American Institute in Taiwan, as the de facto US embassy in Taipei is called, was officially declared open Tuesday morning, in a ceremony attended by senior US diplomats and Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen. — Steven Jiang, CNN, "Washington opens de facto embassy in Taiwan, angering China," 12 June 2018 Long, flowing hair or cascading updos seemed like the de facto move. — Lisa Peterson, Glamour, "I Grew Out My Hair for Months Before My Wedding. I Regret It.," 27 Sep. 2018 Newsweek reported that throughout the last several months, Ivanka has been seen at events wearing shoes from her line, which would serve as a de facto endorsement and potentially encourage other people to buy them. — Alyssa Hardy, Teen Vogue, "Ivanka Trump’s Brand Was Approved for Another 13 Trademarks in China," 30 May 2018 Ted Schlein, who succeeded Doerr as the de facto head of the firm, said in an interview. — Theodore Schleifer, Recode, "Mary Meeker, the legendary internet analyst, is leaving Kleiner Perkins," 14 Sep. 2018

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.