de jure
adverb or adjective
(ˌ)dā-ˈyu̇r-
Did you know?
Coming straight from Latin, de jure is a term used mostly, but not always, in legal writing. Sometimes it's not enough to have something written into law; if a law isn't enforced, it might as well not exist. And if ordinary citizens are too scared of what would happen to them if they exercised their rights, then they don't really have those rights at all. Unfortunately, many countries have constitutions and laws that sound good but turn out not to have much effect. So de jure is almost always used in contrast to something else; its opposite is de facto.
Examples of de jure in a Sentence
Letters To The Editor, The Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2024
Israeli lawyers and human rights activists say the move amounts to de jure annexation.
—Eric Cortellessa/jerusalem, TIME, 13 Aug. 2024
The generation before me used sit-ins and boycotts, marches and public demonstrations to secure voting rights for African-Americans and end de jure segregation.
—Gregory Meeks, New York Daily News, 8 May 2024
Neither Netanyahu nor Biden seems willing or able to slow this determined effort at de facto and de jure annexation of the West Bank.
—Martin Indyk, Foreign Affairs, 2 Oct. 2023
See all Example Sentences for de jure 
Dictionary Entries Near de jure
Cite this Entry
“De jure.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/de%20jure. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
de jure
adverb or adjective
Medieval Latin, literally, from the law
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