ipse dixit

American

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

noun

an assertion without proof.

ipse dixit British

/ ˈɪpseɪ ˈdɪksɪt /

noun

an arbitrary and unsupported assertion

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ipse dixit

< Latin: he himself said it

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The age is past wherein the ipse dixit of a great name was enough to check all inquiries after truth.

From Project Gutenberg

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

From Project Gutenberg

Are they so sensitive of their "ipse dixit?"

From Project Gutenberg

I know well that Americans will take the ipse dixit of no man.

From Project Gutenberg

Or why should there be any ipse dixit in our poetry, any more than there is in our philosophy?

From Project Gutenberg

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023