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

The coming generations will not give Macaulay up; but they will probably attach much less value than we have done to his ipse dixit.

From Library of the World's Best Literature, Ancient and Modern, Vol. 16 by Various

Are they so sensitive of their "ipse dixit?"

From The Two Tests: The Supernatural Claims of Christianity Tried by Two of its Own Rules by Lisle, Lionel

I shall do no such thing, sir—I'm not to be govern'd by your ipse dixit.

From The Politician Out-Witted by Moses, Montrose Jonas