Word.ws English Dictionary

ipse dixit

UK/ˌɪpseɪ ˈdɪksɪt//ˌɪpsi ˈdɪksɪt/

ipse dixit noun: a dogmatic and unproved proposition or dictum that is accepted solely on the authority of someone who is known to have asserted it.

Noun

ipse dixit (countable and uncountable, plural ipse dixits)

  1. (rhetoric) A dogmatic and unproved proposition or dictum that is accepted solely on the authority of someone who is known to have asserted it.
    • To, avoid, therefore, all Imputation of laying down a Rule for Poſterity, founded only on the Authority of ipſe dixit; for which, to ſay the Truth, we have not the profoundeſt Veneration; […]1749, Henry Fielding, “Of the Serious in Writing; and for What Purpose It Is Introduced”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume II, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book V, page 113
    • Mr. Lincoln has not character enough for integrity and truth, merely on his own ipse dixit, to arraign President Buchanan, President Pierce, and nine Judges of the Supreme Court, not one of whom would be complimented by being put on an equality with him. There is an unpardonable presumption in a...1858 August 21, Stephen A. Douglas, parliamentary debates, Ottawa, Illinois
  2. An authority who makes such an assertion.

ipse dixit meaning in Kannada

ipse dixit in Kannada

ಸ್ವಾಧಿಕಾರೋಕ್ತಿ, ಅಧಿಕಾರಬಲದ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ

Synonyms of ipse dixit

Antonyms

All synonyms and antonyms of ipse dixit

Forms of ipse dixit

pluralipse dixits

Origin of ipse dixit

Borrowed from Latin ipse dīxit (“he himself said it”), calque of Ancient Greek αὐτὸς ἔφα (autòs épha). Originally used by the followers of Pythagoreanism, who claimed this or that proposition to be uttered by Pythagoras himself. Extended during the Middle Ages to the statements of Aristotle, and more famously used in such contexts.

Words formed from ipse dixit

Words that rhyme with ipse dixit

Questions about ipse dixit

What does ipse dixit mean?
Ipse dixit means a dogmatic and unproved proposition or dictum that is accepted solely on the authority of someone who is known to have asserted it.
What is ipse dixit in Kannada?
Ipse dixit in Kannada is ಸ್ವಾಧಿಕಾರೋಕ್ತಿ, ಅಧಿಕಾರಬಲದ ಹೇಳಿಕೆ. See Ipse dixit meaning in Kannada.
What part of speech is ipse dixit?
Ipse dixit is a noun.
How do you pronounce ipse dixit?
Ipse dixit is pronounced /ˌɪpseɪ ˈdɪksɪt/ (UK).
What is the plural of ipse dixit?
The plural of ipse dixit is ipse dixits.

Words near ipse dixit in the dictionary

  1. ipsatizes
  2. ipsatizing
  3. iPSC
  4. iPSCs
  5. ipsdienol
  6. ipse dixit
  7. ipse dixits
  8. ipsedixit
  9. ipsedixitism
  10. ipsedixitisms
  11. ipsedixitist

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ipse dixit (page history and authors); ipse dixit (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Persent101-ipse dixit.wav.

Cite this entry: “ipse dixit.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ipse_dixit. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.