Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
fait accompli

fait accompli

6 9.4
A thing already done that cannot be changed
  • noun
  • /feɪt əˈkɒmplɪ/
translation icon : hecho consumado
  • The merger was presented as a fait accompli, leaving no room for objections from the shareholders.
  • present a fait accompli
  • accepting the fait accompli
  • become a fait accompli

Examples

  • It became a fait accompli.

    The Squid and the Whale (2005)

  • However, Goldman takes the reforms described in World Bank planning documents and other reports as a fait accompli.

    Academic text (2004)

  • I mean, it was fait accompli.

    Private Parts (1997)

  • What followed was fait accompli.

    Ghost Town (2008)

  • So it's a fait accompli.

    Return to Sender (2004)

  • Policy was announced as a fait accompli.

    Academic text (1991)

  • Eventually, most realized that the agreement was a fait accompli that the party simply must live with.

    Academic text (1996)

  • Like most Internet disasters, the situation was a fait accompli.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The effortless, fait accompli nature of the victory is the critical point.

    Academic text (1995)

  • Regan later revealed that the President was "surprisingly passive" and "seemed to be absorbing a fait accompli rather than making a decision."

    Academic text (2014)

Synonyms

foregone conclusion
vsfait accompli
  • Informal
14 3.7

A result that is sure to happen and cannot be changed

refers to a result already completed rather than one merely expected
accomplished fact
vsfait accompli
1 5.9

Something already done that cannot be changed

is the same idea expressed as a foreign phrase rather than plain English

Antonyms

reversal
25 4.2

A change to the opposite direction or position, for example when wind turns

Surface Forms

fait accompli singular
faits accomplis plural

Morphology

fait + accompli

The phrase literally combines French words meaning 'made/done' (fait) and 'accomplished' (accompli), so a learner who knows those constituent meanings can readily infer 'an accomplished/done fact' — i.e. something already done and effectively unchangeable. The compositional logic is direct and parallels equivalent constructions in other languages, making the meaning predictable from the parts.

Etymology

The phrase fait accompli comes from French and literally shows fait ('made') and accompli ('completed'). Imagine someone telling you a decision is already finished and cannot be changed; that's why fait accompli means 'something already done' that leaves no room for choice.