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.

"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

“Independent verification is, by definition, a human institution. Someone has to stand behind the work. What changes is not whether humans are involved, but what they spend their time on,” he said.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026

The cap-weighting and resulting concentration aren’t bad by definition, especially during bull markets.

From MarketWatch • May 27, 2026

"Classified workloads are by definition opaque," said one organizing employee, who was not named in the statement.

From Barron's • Apr. 29, 2026

All I knew was that Schindler may have been a Nazi, and therefore by definition dangerous, but he acted in a way that no other Nazi I knew did.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

by definition

Example Sentences

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