de jure

\de ju.re\

/\de ju.re\/ adv

The verdict

“de jure” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as an adverb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
7
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - De droit, conformément à la loi.

Corpus desk

Index FR-de-jure · de jure · French

de jure · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-LONG 7 letters
  • VOW-3 3 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "D" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for de jure
PropertyValue
Headwordde jure
LanguageFrench
Part of speechAdverb
IPA\de ju.re\
Letters7
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « de jure » en français

de jurereste hors des 100.000 mots français les plus fréquents, dans la longue queue du vocabulaire technique, archaïque ou rare, là où le doute d'orthographe frappe.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

de jure is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anadverb, transcribed \de ju.re\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. Gloss: "De droit, conformément à la loi.".

Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for de jure, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, which typically means the spelling is too distinctive to be mistaken for another word.

Our source data has no etymology on file for this entry, so its spelling is best read as a straightforward mapping from sound to letter. The correct French form is de jure, spelled D-E- -J-U-R-E.

Definition

  1. 1
    De droit, conformément à la loi.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how de jure appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Tandis que Martin Luther King concentrait ses efforts pour faire tomber la discrimination de jure, une autre grande figure de la lutte pour les droits civiques, Malcolm X, centrait son combat sur la discrimination de facto des noirs aux États-Unis, car l’abolition de lois racistes n’empêchait pas toujours la ségrégation dans les faits.

Synonyms

de planoex lege

Antonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "de jure"?
"de jure" is spelled D-E- -J-U-R-E. The IPA pronunciation is \de ju.re\.
What does "de jure" mean?
As an adverb, "de jure" means: De droit, conformément à la loi.
How do you pronounce "de jure"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "de jure" is \de ju.re\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "de jure" come from?
"de jure" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list