de novo

UK/deɪˈnəʊvəʊ/UK/dəˈnəʊvəʊ/US/deɪˈnoʊvoʊ/US/dəˈnoʊvoʊ/

adjective

Anew, afresh, from the beginning; without consideration of previous instances, proceedings or determinations.

“Near-synonym: in a vacuum”

Meanings

adjectivede novo (not comparable)
  1. not comparableAnew, afresh, from the beginning; without consideration of previous instances, proceedings or determinations.

    Near-synonym: in a vacuum

    2 more examples

    Such development was not de novo; antecedents are apparent.

    He filed a motion for a de novo hearing.

    Synonyms: in a vacuum

adverbde novo (not comparable)
  1. not comparableAnew (from the beginning).

    Near-synonym: in a vacuum

    4 more examples

    Having found the lower court's analysis wrong, the appellate court undertook a review de novo.

    One luckless wight contrived to upset the gravy; and then gravy had to be got up de novo, with due care and formality,[…]

    1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter VII, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume I, Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC

    Talking of “natural selection;” if I had to commence de novo, I would have used “natural preservation.”

    1887, Charles Darwin, “To C. Lyell, September 28, 1860”, in Francis Darwin, editor, The Life and Letters of Charles Darwin, volume II, New York: D. Appleton & Company

    But if I had not taken things for granted, if I had examined everything with the care which I should have shown had we approached the case de novo and had no cut-and-dried story to warp my mind, should I not then have found something more definite to go upon?

    1904 September, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Adventure of the Abbey Grange”, in The Return of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: McClure, Phillips & Co., published February 1905, →OCLC

    Synonyms: in a vacuum

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveAnew, afresh, from the beginning; without consideration of previous instances, proceedings or determinations.

adverbAnew (from the beginning).

Also see

Origin

  1. Latindē novō
  2. Englishde novo

Borrowed from Latin dē novō (adverb, literally “from the new”), from dē (“from”) + novō, ablative singular of novus (“new”).

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

de novo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/de%20novo

MLA

“de novo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/de%20novo. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “de novo,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/de%20novo.

Source: de novo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.