de facto
/ˌdeɪˈfæktəʊ/adverb, adjective, noun
de facto is spelled D-E-F-A-C-T-O: 7 letters. As an adverb, de facto means “In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in de facto?
| Letters | 7: D-E-F-A-C-T-O |
|---|---|
| In writing | a phrase: the frequency list counts single words |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Pairs people search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); Bing searches in the United States: the average month from September 2025 to August 2026 (Microsoft Advertising keyword data through DataForSEO, read September 30, 2026).
How do you pronounce de facto?
- UK /ˌdeɪˈfæktəʊ/
- UK /dɪˈfæktəʊ/
- UK /ˌdiːˈfæktəʊ/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: EN-AU_ck1_de_facto.ogg, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Flame,_not_lame-de_facto.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Words people confuse with de facto
Word pairs people search, with the monthly searches for “a vs b” (G: Google, B: Bing, United States).
Also written: defacto (one word or two).
Sources: Google and Bing searches (September 2025 to August 2026, through DataForSEO); English Wiktionary (homophones, alternative spellings).
Forms of de facto
- defacto
- de factos plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does de facto mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adverb
- 1
In actual use or existence, regardless of official or legal status.
adjective
- 1
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.
noun
- 1
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.
adverb
- 1
Alternative form of de facto.
adjective
- 1
Alternative form of de facto.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
De facto in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense in fact or in practice:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does de facto come from?
Unadapted borrowing from Latin dē factō (literally “according to fact”), from dē (“according to”) + ablative of factum (“fact, deed, act”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).