de facto

American  

[dih fak-toh, dey, dee] / dɪ ˈfæk toʊ, deɪ, di /

adverb

1. in fact; in reality (distinguished from de jure).

   Although his title was prime minister, he was de facto president of the country.

   They are forbidden from leaving the camp, thereby being de facto in a state of detention.

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adjective

1. actually existing, especially when without lawful authority (distinguished from de jure).

   He led efforts to reduce de facto segregation in the city's public schools.

noun

1. Australia. a person who lives with someone in an intimate romantic relationship but is not married to that person.

de facto British  

/ deɪ ˈfæktəʊ /

adverb

1. in fact

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adjective

1. existing in fact, whether legally recognized or not Compare de jure

   a de facto regime

noun

1. a de facto husband or wife

de facto Cultural  

1. Something generally accepted or agreed to without any formal decision in its favor: “They never elected him; he became their leader de facto.” From Latin, meaning “in fact.” (Compare de jure.)

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Etymology

Origin of de facto

First recorded in 1595–1605; from Latin dē factō literally, “from the fact”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

de facto

After sign off from Prime Minister Andy Burnham's de facto deputy Louise Haigh, the alert was sent at 19:00 on 14 August.

From BBC ● Aug. 29, 2026

The crowd skewed heavily female, and a sizable portion of concertgoers were decked out in polka dots, which has become the de facto fan uniform.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

The two wrote several top-10 country hits, including “The Last Thing on My Mind” and “Daddy Was an Old Time Preacher Man,” and Wagoner became Parton’s de facto manager.

From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026

My favorite sentiment indicator, the Investors Intelligence Bull/Bear ratio, recently came in at 3.88 on a de facto scale of around 0.5 to 5.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026

As for Annabeth—she’d been the de facto leader of the quest.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

Related Words

• existing