De facto
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
De facto is a phrase from the Latin language that is sometimes used in English. It means "in fact" and describes how things really are.
The opposite of de facto is de jure. De jure means "in law" and describes how the law says things should be.
For example, the de jure name of Bill Clinton is William Jefferson Clinton. This is his name according to official records. His de facto name is Bill Clinton because this is what he is usually called.