de facto

See also: defacto

English

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō (literally according to fact), from (according to) + ablative of factum (fact, deed, act).

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA(key): /ˌdeɪˈfæktəʊ/, /dɪˈfæktəʊ/, /ˌdiːˈfæktəʊ/
  • (US) IPA(key): /ˌdeɪˈfæktoʊ/, /dəˈfæktoʊ/, /ˌdiˈfæktoʊ/
  • Audio (General Australian):(file)
  • Audio (US):(file)

Adverb

de facto (not comparable)

  1. (modal) In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status.
    Synonyms: in fact, in practice, factually, practically
    Coordinate terms: de jure, legally, legalistically; see also Thesaurus:actually

Adjective

de facto (not comparable)

  1. In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status.
    Coordinate terms: de jure; real, true; see also Thesaurus:genuine
    While it is largely recognized that Ukraine holds de jure sovereignty on Crimea, Russia exercises de facto administration on the peninsula.
    • 1995, David Wolff, “Russia Finds Its Limits: Crossing Borders into Manchuria”, in Stephen Kotkin, David Wolff, editors, Rediscovering Russia in Asia : Siberia and the Russian Far East[1], M.E. Sharpe, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, page 45:
      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.
    • 2021 November 18, “Taiwan deploys first advanced F-16V fighter squadron”, in France 24[2], archived from the original on 18 November 2021:
      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.

Alternative forms

Derived terms

Descendants

  • Russian: де-фа́кто (de-fákto)

Translations

Noun

de facto (plural de factos)

  1. (Australia, New Zealand) 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.
    • 1984, Sotirios Sarantakos, Living Together in Australia[3], page 141:
      One of the vendors was simple and straight; he said that it was his policy not to rent a house to de factos.
    • 1984, Australian Senate, Senate Weekly Hansard[4], volume 105, page 2213:
      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.

Hyponyms

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin dē factō (literally according to fact).

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /de fak.to/
  • Audio:(file)

Adjective

de facto (invariable)

  1. de facto
    Synonym: de fait

Adverb

de facto

  1. de facto

Indonesian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō (literally according to fact), from (according to) + ablative of factum (fact, deed, act)

Phrase

de facto

  1. de facto

Further reading

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /de ˈfak.to/
  • Rhymes: -akto
  • Hyphenation: de‧fàc‧to

Adverb

de facto

  1. de facto
    Antonym: de iure

Adjective

de facto (invariable)

  1. de facto
    Antonym: de iure

Further reading

  • de facto in Treccani.it – Vocabolario Treccani on line, Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana

Latin

Pronunciation

Prepositional phrase

factō

  1. (This entry is a descendant hub.) according to fact

Descendants


Polish

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō.

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /dɛˈfak.tɔ/
  • Audio:(file)
  • Rhymes: -aktɔ
  • Syllabification: de fac‧to

Adverb

de facto (not comparable)

  1. de facto (in fact or in practice)
    Antonym: de iure

Particle

de facto

  1. (idiomatic) actually, in fact
    Synonyms: tak naprawdę, w gruncie rzeczy, w istocie, w istocie rzeczy, w rzeczywistości

Further reading

  • de facto in Wielki słownik języka polskiego, Instytut Języka Polskiego PAN
  • de facto in Polish dictionaries at PWN

Portuguese

Alternative forms

Adverb

de facto (not comparable) (European Portuguese spelling)

  1. truly
  2. indeed
  3. in fact

Spanish

Pronunciation

  • IPA(key): /de ˈfaɡto/ [d̪e ˈfaɣ̞.t̪o]
  • Syllabification: de fac‧to

Adverb

de facto

  1. (modal) de facto; in fact

Adjective

de facto (invariable)

  1. de facto, in actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status

Further reading