De facto

De facto (/deɪ ˈfæktoʊ, di -, də -/, day FAK-toh, dee -⁠, də -⁠;[1] Latin: [deː ˈfaktoː] ⓘ; lit. 'from fact') describes practices that exist in reality, regardless of whether they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms.[2][3] It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with de jure ('from law'). This distinction is highly significant in fields like law and governance.

The term de facto is used to describe concepts that have, or could have, both a declared official form as well as an unofficial functioning form. For example, a de facto government holds power without legal recognition, while a de jure government may have formal legal authority but lack any real power.

  1. ^ Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary. S.v. "de facto Archived 2021-01-24 at the Wayback Machine." Retrieved January 12, 2018
  2. ^ "de facto". Dictionary.com. Archived from the original on 24 January 2021. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  3. ^ See I. 3. "de facto". Oxford English Dictionary (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press. 1989.
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