Is my vocabulary use of de facto correct?

Question

"The society in this book portrayed fabricated ideas that are de facto from the aspects of modern day life."

if this is not the right use of de facto, may i have an example of how to use it in a sentence so that I'll know how?
Also, would using de facto in an essay be considered informal?

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

It's remotely correct.  It's what I'd call a 'stilted' use of a Latin expression...you're using it when you really don't need to.  btw, it just means "in fact".  Using expressions like de facto is ok and is 'informal' if you don't overdo it.  Otherwise, it sounds like you're trying to be snooty.

Here's a good reference
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-does-de-facto-mean.htm

A good use would be where for example, a business fires someone claiming "He didn't do his job"  But, investigation shows five other people in the last two years were fired for "not doing their job", and all five are black.  A lawyer could argue that this is "de facto discrimination", that is, it is discrimination "in fact", no matter what the business says.

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Is my vocabulary use of de facto correct?

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