Ipso Facto Definition & Meaning

American

British

Etymology

Examples

Synonyms ipso facto American [ip-soh fak-toh] / ˈɪp soʊ ˈfæk toʊ /

adverb

1. by the fact itself; by the very nature of the deed.

   to be condemned ipso facto.

ipso facto British / ˈɪpsəʊ ˈfæktəʊ /

adverb

1. by that very fact or act

   ipso facto his guilt was apparent

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of ipso facto

First recorded in 1540–50, ipso facto is from Latin ipsō factō

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As Harvard literature professor Marc Shell writes, “Many people maintain that they cannot change their language without ipso facto also changing their gods and themselves.”

From Scientific American

The situation illustrates a lack of ability to govern amid this health crisis and, ipso facto, the huge drop in poll numbers, especially for President Donald Trump.

From Seattle Times

"All I'm saying is you don't ipso facto believe somebody," she said.

From Fox News

Any outcome that displeases them is ipso facto a bastardized one.

From New York Times

Our language has a lot of Latin in it, and once speakers of English have got hold of a Latin word and use it frequently enough, it is, ipso facto, English.

From The New Yorker

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.