ultima ratio

noun

ul·​ti·​ma ra·​tio ˌu̇l-tə-mə-ˈrä-tē-ˌō How to pronounce ultima ratio (audio)
: the final argument
also : the last resort (such as force)

Word History

Etymology

New Latin

First Known Use

1780, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of ultima ratio was in 1780

Dictionary Entries Near ultima ratio

ultimacy

ultima ratio

ultima ratio regum

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Ultima ratio.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ultima%20ratio. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)

Absent Letters That Are Heard Anyway
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

A Great Big List of Bread Words

The Words of the Week - Apr. 12

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels

12 More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

9 Superb Owl Words
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...