by definition

ADVERB

necessarily

Synonyms

STRONGEST

automatically naturally no doubt undoubtedly unquestionably

WEAK

accordingly as a matter of course axiomatically beyond one's control by its own nature cardinally come what may compulsorily consequently exigently from within fundamentally incontrovertibly indubitably ineluctably inescapably inexorably irresistibly of course of necessity perforce positively pressingly significantly unpreventably vitally willy-nilly without fail

Antonyms

STRONGEST

doubtfully questionably

WEAK

unnecessarily

ADVERB

per se

Synonyms

WEAK

alone as such by and of itself by its very nature by itself fundamentally in essence in itself independently intrinsically of itself singularly solely virtually

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.

A behest, after all, is by definition a command or at least a strong suggestion.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 20, 2026

"If you sanction someone because they're doing some behaviour and they change the behaviour, then by definition the sanction cannot stay."

From BBC • Jun. 13, 2026

IPOs by definition are stock events, but options trading will likely become the main event.

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

If that were the case there would be no net effect on the global stock market from this World Cup effect, since by definition there always is the same number of winning and losing teams.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 9, 2026

We had something important in common, then, a personality quirk I didn’t share with Alaska or anybody else, although almost by definition Lara and I couldn’t express it to each other.

From "Looking for Alaska" by John Green

by definition

Example Sentences

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