prima facie

1 of 2

adverb

pri·​ma fa·​cie ˌprī-mə-ˈfā-shə How to pronounce prima facie (audio)
-shē, 
-sē
also -shē-ˌē, 
-sē-ˌē
Synonyms of prima facienext
: at first view : on the first appearance

prima facie

2 of 2

adjective

1
: true, valid, or sufficient at first impression : apparent
… the theory … gives a prima facie solution …—R. J. Butler
2
: self-evident
3
: legally sufficient to establish a fact or a case unless disproved
prima facie evidence

Synonyms of prima facie

Relevance

Adjective

See All Synonyms & Antonyms in Thesaurus

Examples of prima facie in a Sentence

Adjective a prima facie case of tax fraud There is strong prima facie evidence that she committed perjury.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Adverb
That's prima facie proof of tax-loss harvesting. — Michael Kaplan, CBS News, 15 June 2026 The court next turned to whether the Buttons had made a prima facie case under Washington state law. — Jay Adkisson, Forbes.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Adjective
None of these scenarios is prima facie impossible, and therefore, once raised, none can be dismissed out of hand. — Lindsay Beyerstein, The New Republic, 10 Dec. 2021 No simple annoyance, but this felt a lot like a prima facie violation of privacy. — J.t. Barbarese, New York Daily News, 18 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for prima facie

Word History

Etymology

Adverb

Middle English, borrowed from Latin prīmā faciē, from prīmā, ablative singular feminine of prīmus "first, foremost" + faciē, ablative singular of faciēs "appearance, sight" — more at prime entry 1, face entry 1

Adjective

derivative of prima facie entry 1

First Known Use

Adverb

circa 1500, in the meaning defined above

Adjective

1790, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of prima facie was circa 1500

Rhymes for prima facie

See All Rhymes for prima facie

Browse Nearby Words

primaeval
prima facie
primage
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Prima facie.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prima%20facie. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

Legal Definition

prima facie

1 of 2 adverb
pri·​ma fa·​cie ˈprī-mə-ˈfā-shə, -sē, -shē How to pronounce prima facie (audio)
: at first view : on first appearance absent other information or evidence
guidelines which would prima facie accredit new entrance examinations as nondiscriminatory—S. L. Lynch
compare ex facie

prima facie

2 of 2 adjective
: sufficient to establish a fact or case unless disproved
prima facie proof
a prima facie showing
Etymology

Adverb

Latin

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of gambol

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All