Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

prima facie

/ˈpɹiː.mə ˈfeɪ.siː/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 2.54 in modern English

Syllables: pri-ma -fa-cie
IPA: /ˈpɹiː.mə ˈfeɪ.siː/

19

Scrabble Score

10

Letters

4

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

adv

At first sight; on the face of it.

adj

Apparently correct; not needing proof unless evidence to the contrary is shown.

Example Sentences

"[…] the nicest young man that ever was, — daintily gloved, patently booted, oilily curled, snowily wristbanded, with a lovely cambric (prima facie) handkerchief bound about his hyacinthine locks and polished hat."
"Prima facie this may not read like a true story."
"We conclude that the single photon is somehow interacting with itself. And now we have prima facie evidence of the superposition of quantum particles, that they can exist in more than one place at the same time."

Etymology

From Latin prīmā (“first”) + faciē (“shape, figure”), literally “at the first appearance.”

Word Breakdown

Root: *dʰeh₁-

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpɹiː.mə ˈfeɪ.siː/
British English: /ˈpɹiː.mə ˈfeɪ.siː/

Inflected Forms

more prima facie (comparative) most prima facie (superlative)

Phrases

prima faciality ex facie

Frequently Paired Words

ex facie

Synonyms

apparently seemingly at first blush at first glance at first sight on the face of it on the surface ostensibly outwardly prima facie superficially surfacely

Questions

How do you pronounce prima facie?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpɹiː.mə ˈfeɪ.siː/.
What does prima facie mean?: At first sight; on the face of it.
Where does prima facie come from?: From Latin prīmā (“first”) + faciē (“shape, figure”), literally “at the first appearance.”

How to pronounce prima facie

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