How to Use de facto in a Sentence

de facto

1 of 2 adverb
  • Trump said of the de facto head of Venezuela.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Jan. 2026
  • But the pain from that de facto boycott might not be shared equally.
    — Elisabeth Buchwald, CNN Money, 28 Oct. 2025
  • He's always been sort of our de facto leader.
    — Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 4 Dec. 2025
  • This is Mira’s—de facto, not de jure.
    — Anna Wiener, New Yorker, 4 May 2026
  • Yet de facto peace never lasted long.
    — Mireille Rebeiz, The Conversation, 9 Oct. 2025
  • Luzardo, as the de facto ace, needs to set the example among the group.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2024
  • Lukather, now the de facto bandleader, proved a capable host from the start.
    — Theoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 15 Aug. 2025
  • And Olivia Rutigliano had an epic ice cream sundae for two (but de facto, for one).
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 12 Sep. 2025
  • The de facto freeze on natural gas projects is a decision that should not stand.
    — Mike Sommers, Fortune Europe, 1 Feb. 2024
  • The law de facto removed hundreds of parking places in hard-to-park areas.
    — Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Aug. 2025
  • The law de facto removed hundreds of parking places in hard-to-park areas.
    — Inga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 16 Feb. 2026
  • Its dining rooms and bar have quickly become the town’s de facto living room.
    — Madeline Weinfield, Travel + Leisure, 5 Jan. 2026
  • The school where one person has become the de facto AI lead is the school that is about to plateau.
    — Dan Fitzpatrick, Forbes.com, 18 May 2026
  • As the eldest brother in the band, Alan was often seen as its de facto leader.
    — Ellise Shafer, Variety, 21 Apr. 2026
  • And things could be much worse than having Idris Elba as your surprise de facto host.
    — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, 25 Feb. 2024
  • For years, the street served as a de facto racial dividing line in Kansas City.
    — Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 9 Sep. 2025
  • The Mets’ de facto ace, David Peterson, was on the mound.
    — Jerry Beach, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2025
  • Terenzio was Kennedy’s chief of staff and, that summer, his de facto wedding planner.
    — Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 2 July 2026
  • The system has become a de facto safety net for 29 counties.
    — Sarah Jane Tribble, NPR, 22 May 2026
  • The fact that Chong was now the de facto director of their films had upset the balance of power.
    — David Fear, Rolling Stone, 17 Mar. 2024
  • Why Michael Irvin is a de facto sideline cheerleader.
    — Greg Cote january 5, Miami Herald, 5 Jan. 2026
  • If the Mets are going to turn things around, their de facto captain is going to have to lead the charge on both sides of the ball.
    — Jackson Roberts, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Aug. 2025
  • Kyle Schwarber became the team’s de facto hype man, making a speech on at least one bus ride to and from the ballpark.
    — Maria Torres, New York Times, 14 Mar. 2026
  • Hamas has remained the de facto authority there.
    — Morgan Phillips, FOXNews.com, 25 Sep. 2025
  • Banchero and Wagner often serve as de facto point guards, but who else can the Magic go to?
    — Josh Robbins, New York Times, 3 May 2026
  • Over the last few years, Puth has become the industry’s de facto music teacher.
    — Kristin Robinson, Billboard, 22 Dec. 2025
  • Pahlavi, who is based in the US, has sought to position himself as a de facto leader.
    — Tamara Qiblawi, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026
  • Many of the strikers have gathered weapons and organized into de facto militias.
    — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 May 2026
  • One member of the executive branch should not have the de facto authority to do that.
    — Roger Huang, Forbes, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Glenn being the de facto defensive coordinator may not be the worst thing in the world.
    — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 27 Jan. 2026

de facto

2 of 2 adjective
  • The army chief is widely seen as the de facto ruler in Pakistan.
    — Time, 29 Nov. 2022
  • At the time, the vote was framed as a de facto referendum on the protests.
    — Jessie Yeung, CNN, 20 Dec. 2021
  • Delfino has become the de facto face of the site, though not by design.
    — Perrie Samotin, Glamour, 18 Mar. 2022
  • But the reality on the ground is that much of the city is in de facto lockdown.
    — Brian Spegele, WSJ, 23 Nov. 2022
  • Players complain that the luxury tax has been used as a de facto salary cap.
    — Jared Diamond, WSJ, 22 Mar. 2022
  • Hannah was the de facto hero who Dunham could play as a willful goof.
    — Darren Franich, EW.com, 15 Apr. 2022
  • In two years, Tyler Herro will be the Heat’s de facto point guard.
    — Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 20 Dec. 2022
  • Starbucks has become the de facto public toilet in many areas, but lines can be very long.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 Feb. 2023
  • And being a de facto co-host, forced to wait to ask her questions until the men were finished, wasn’t good enough.
    — Robert Bianco, USA TODAY, 31 Dec. 2022
  • The Marines would not move toward him onto de facto Taliban turf.
    — Mujib Mashal, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2021
  • But the Uvalde massacre occurred in an existing, de facto war zone.
    — Palabra, al, 7 June 2022
  • The ports are under a de facto naval blockade by Russian forces off the coast, Crow said.
    — Artem Grudinin, NBC News, 5 May 2022
  • Crypto lenders, which acted as the de facto banks, boomed during the pandemic.
    — Reuters, CNN, 20 Jan. 2023
  • His attorneys have argued the lengthy prison sentence was a de facto life sentence due to his failing health.
    — Eric Levenson, CNN, 24 Oct. 2022
  • Almost by accident, the show acts as a kind of de facto commercial for the real estate.
    — Kim Velsey, Curbed, 11 Dec. 2021
  • In many ways, plastic bottles have become the de facto symbol of the waste that clogs up waterways and harms marine life.
    — Anne Quito, Quartz, 22 Apr. 2022
  • Ken Fulk used floor-to-ceiling storage to create a de facto mudroom from an empty hallway.
    — Hadley Mendelsohn, House Beautiful, 13 Jan. 2023
  • Rawlins has tried to meet this need by serving as a de facto (and pro bono) climatologist, but there are only so many hours in a day.
    — Kate Selig, BostonGlobe.com, 10 July 2022
  • Blocking entry to migrants and returning them to places of hardship has become the de facto response.
    — Kenneth R. Rosen, The New Republic, 26 Apr. 2022
  • Later in the locker room, the All-Star point guard and de facto team lead presented Popovich with the game ball.
    — Tom Orsborn, San Antonio Express-News, 12 Mar. 2022
  • The message was that MBS -- the de facto ruler of the kingdom -- would be shunned and dealings would only be with the king.
    — Abbas Al Lawati, CNN, 13 July 2022
  • That means Johnson is the de facto person in charge of the House until lawmakers settle on a speaker.
    — Fox News, 8 Dec. 2022
  • The difference for me has been [taking on the role of an] executive producer and being the de facto showrunner.
    — Josh Weiss, Forbes, 26 Jan. 2023
  • Senior aides view the forthcoming State of the Union Address as a de facto launch of his reelection bid.
    — Nancy Cordes, Ed O'Keefe, CBS News, 19 Jan. 2023
  • An even more troubling, recent example is the de facto snuffing out of the free press and opposition in Hong Kong.
    — Mike O'Sullivan, Forbes, 1 Jan. 2022
  • Xi’an, a city in Shaanxi province, locked down for more than a month in December and January and is back in de facto lockdown.
    — Eyck Freymann, WSJ, 28 Apr. 2022
  • The larger scandal is that the Postal Service Reform Act is itself a de facto long-term federal bailout.
    — The Editors, National Review, 8 Mar. 2022
  • As Hong Kong moves to treat the virus as endemic, at least de facto, mainland China is sticking to its tough approach of mass testing and lockdowns.
    — Nicholas Gordon, Fortune, 4 May 2022
  • In charge of keeping the peace is Mary Beth Swann, who serves as the island’s de facto police captain while her husband, Archie, fights overseas.
    — Tom Nolan, WSJ, 21 Oct. 2022
  • But some residents in the Turnagain neighborhood say the land, just east of the Rustic Goat restaurant, has long been a de facto park and should remain that way.
    — Alex Demarban, Anchorage Daily News, 28 Feb. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'de facto.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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