de facto
/ˌdeɪˈfæktoʊ/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.57 in modern English
13
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars
Meaning
adv
In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status.
adj
In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status.
noun
A legally undeclared spouse; a partner in a spousal relationship which is not officially declared as a marriage, comparable to a common law husband or wife.
Australian usage; New Zealand usage
Example Sentences
- "While it is largely recognized that Ukraine holds de jure sovereignty on Crimea, Russia exercises de facto administration on the peninsula."
- "To avoid conflicts (and associated delays and distractions) with other ministries' minions in Vladivostok, Chief Engineer Iugovich moved his headquarters to Harbin in 1898. Within fifteen years, a transportation hub with more than 100,000 inhabitants had sprung up. Its size and importance were commensurate with its de facto role as the provincial capital of Russian Manchuria."
- "Taiwan held a ceremony on Thursday to commission the first squadron of its most advanced F-16 fighter, a US-made jet that will strengthen the island's defences against threats by China. President Tsai Ing-wen oversaw the ceremony at an air base in the southern city of Chiayi alongside Sandra Oudkirk, Washington's de facto ambassador to Taiwan."
- "One of the vendors was simple and straight; he said that it was his policy not to rent a house to de factos."
- "An incidental sideline to this little farce, I suppose we can call it, is that the Opposition, in this policy, seems to have reversed its so often stated policy in this place on de factos."
- "2008, David de Vaus, Chapter 15: Australian Families: Social and Demographic Patterns, in Charles B. Hennon, Stephan M. Wilson (editors), Families in a Global Context, 2011, page 383, The parental rights and responsibilities of de factos are the same as for legally married parents but, because property and maintenance of de factos is a state responsibility, there are differences between married and de factos in some states."
Etymology
Regional Pronunciation
- American English: /ˌdeɪˈfæktoʊ/
- British English: /ˌdeɪˈfæktəʊ/