ipse dixit

American  

[ip-se dik-sit, ip-see dik-sit] / ˈɪp sɛ ˈdɪk sɪt, ˈɪp si ˈdɪk sɪt /

noun

1. an assertion without proof.

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ipse dixit British  

/ ˈɪpseɪ ˈdɪksɪt /

noun

1. an arbitrary and unsupported assertion

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Etymology

Origin of ipse dixit

< Latin: he himself said it

Example Sentences

Today’s decision reveals California’s considerable wingspan: That case’s ipse dixit now apparently governs all APA challenges to grant-funding determinations that the government asks us to address in the context of an emergency stay application.

From Slate • Jan. 3, 2026

I was afraid he might push out, because he was, in a way a human dynamo and, at the time of his supremacy, might have controlled 150,000 votes in Indiana by his "ipse dixit!"

From Time Magazine Archive

I'm not to be governed by your ipse dixit.

From Caricature and Other Comic Art in all Times and many Lands. by Parton, James

The doctrine of direct creation can merely be asserted, it cannot be argued; the statement once made, there is nothing more to be said; it is an ipse dixit pure and simple.

From Man And His Ancestor A Study In Evolution by Morris, Charles

The ipse dixit of one man will then prevent all argument.

From Scientific American magazine Vol 2. No. 3 Oct 10 1846 The Advocate of Industry and Journal of Scientific, Mechanical and Other Improvements by Porter, Rufus