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Showing results for de novo.
Synonyms

de novo

American  
[dee noh-voh, day, dih, de noh-woh] / di ˈnoʊ voʊ, deɪ, dɪ, dɛ ˈnoʊ woʊ /

adverb

  1. anew; afresh; again; from the beginning.

    We reviewed the court’s decision de novo during the rehearing.

  2. independently of external forces; from within; spontaneously.

    Mutations associated with autism often occur de novo rather than through inheritance.


adjective

  1. occurring or arising spontaneously or independently of external forces; spontaneous: de novo synthesis of steroids from cholesterol.

    de novo mutations;

    de novo synthesis of steroids from cholesterol.

  2. made from scratch rather than developed from or based on something preexisting, and hence new, novel, or of a new type: de novo banks.

    de novo protein design;

    de novo banks.

  3. De Novo, noting or related to a type of FDA classification allowing novel medical devices with no precedent on the market to be sold: De Novo classification.

    a De Novo request;

    De Novo classification.

de novo British  
/ diː ˈnəʊvəʊ /

adverb

  1. from the beginning; anew

"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 de novo

First recorded in 1620–30; from Latin dē novō “anew, afresh, again”


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.

See Examples For:

AI for the quantitative world is something else entirely, focusing on creating novel medical treatments, de novo material science, and advanced risk management and portfolio construction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

Researchers are, therefore, trying to recreate them or to design so-called de novo proteins that do not occur in nature.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 21, 2024

Today, scientists use advanced technology to design new synthetic drug compounds with the right properties and characteristics, also known as "de novo drug design."

From Science Daily ● Feb. 7, 2024

“Currently … it goes through a de novo review before an administrative law judge, which means a new body of records is created,” she explains.

From Science Magazine ● Nov. 28, 2023

Writing has evolved de novo only a few times in human history, in areas that had been the earliest sites of the rise of food production in their respective regions.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

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