comme il faut
1
9.9
- idiom
- /kəm il foʊ/
- Formal
:
como es debido
- The event was conducted comme il faut, ensuring that all the traditional customs were respected.
- femme comme il faut
Examples
-
Everything, comme il faut.
-
Your new suite is hardly comme il faut.
-
It's precisely comme il faut.
-
She gave me, star Pioneer, a sly wink as she introduced us, all very comme il faut.
Fiction book (1997) -
Même quand c'est fait comme il faut, chances aren't good.
-
At the formal dinner, everyone was dressed comme il faut, adhering to the expected standards of elegance.
-
She spoke with confidence and acted comme il faut, impressing her guests with her decorum.
Synonyms
596
2.2
Suitable and correct for a particular situation or use
282
1.0
Suitable for a particular situation or purpose
5
9.6
Expected because of good manners or fashion in a certain situation
3
7.9
Polite and showing good manners in formal situations
3
3.9
Showing a polite, attractive style that most people approve of
2
7.4
Suitable for a situation and following polite rules
1
9.1
Proper and polite in behavior or appearance
Suitable and proper for a situation
Antonyms
How Proper
- Formal
3
7.9
- Formal
1
9.9
596
2.2
962
3.5
477
2.5
Surface Forms
Morphology
comme + il + faut
Although this is a French loan phrase, its meaning ('proper/appropriate') is directly derivable from the constituents: 'comme' = 'as/like' and 'il faut' = 'it is necessary/it should be', yielding 'as it should be'. Cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. Spanish 'como debe ser') and the literal compositional logic make the expression transparent to a learner who knows the parts.
Etymology
The phrase comme il faut comes from French and literally says comme il faut, which means 'as it should be'. That's why people use comme il faut to describe someone or something that is 'proper' or 'correct' in polite situations.