fait accompli
Pluralfaits accomplis
- 1Something that has already happened before the people affected had a chance to object or ask questions.
The council approved the demolition in a late-night session, then presented residents with a fait accompli.
Critics complained that the cuts were announced as faits accomplis, leaving no room for public comment.
Note
English took the phrase whole from French, where it means "a completed fact", and keeps the French plural, faits accomplis, with both words changing. The sting is in the timing: people are presented with a fait accompli, or asked to accept one, once objecting is useless. Done deal is the everyday equivalent; the French phrase suits formal writing, and Trollope already uses it in Barchester Towers (1857).
Use it in a sentence
Write your own sentence with fait accompli, and AI will tell you whether it fits and which meaning you used.
Origin
Borrowed from French fait accompli (“a completed fact”), from fait (“a fact”) + accompli (“completed, accomplished”).