De facto or defacto?
de facto is an adverb meaning “In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status”; defacto is a noun meaning “Alternative form of de facto”. de facto is written as two words and defacto as one word; they are used differently.
What is the difference between de facto and defacto?
| de facto | defacto | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | adverb, adjective, noun | noun |
| Meaning | In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status AustraliaA 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 | Alternative form of de facto |
| Example | While it is largely recognized that Ukraine holds de jure sovereignty on Crimea, Russia exercises de facto administration on the peninsula | none recorded |
| Forms | none | defactos |
| Pronunciation | /ˌdeɪˈfæktəʊ/ /dɪˈfæktəʊ/ /ˌdiːˈfæktəʊ/ | not recorded |
| In writing | not counted (the list counts single words) | about once in every 8 million words |
Sources: de facto and defacto in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of de facto and defacto
de facto
- 1
In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status
- 2
In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status
While it is largely recognized that Ukraine holds de jure sovereignty on Crimea, Russia exercises de facto administration on the peninsula
- 3
AustraliaA 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
- 4
Alternative form of de facto
- 5
Alternative form of de facto
defacto
- 1
Alternative form of de facto
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, de facto or defacto?
de facto is a phrase, which the list of single words does not count; defacto about once in every 8 million words.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).