fait accompli

American  

[fe ta-kawn-plee] / fɛ ta kɔ̃ˈpli /

noun

French.

plural

faits accomplis

1. an accomplished fact; a thing already done.

   The enemy's defeat was a fait accompli long before the formal surrender.

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fait accompli British  

/ fɛt akɔ̃pli /

noun

1. something already done and beyond alteration

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fait accompli Cultural  

1. Something that has already been done: “The company president did not discuss the new hiring policy with her board of directors; instead she put it into effect and presented the board with a fait accompli.” From French, meaning “an accomplished fact.”

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Etymology

Origin of fait accompli

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

Yet the majority is trying to avoid a fait accompli.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 3, 2026

Or at least not as much of a fait accompli as we’ve seen in the recent past.

From Los Angeles Times • May 27, 2025

But his promise to review consultant contracts that have been normally regarded as a fait accompli is a good start, some observers say.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2025

Following the sentencing, Mr Webber's mother said the CPS had, in November, presented her family with "a fait accompli that the decision had been made to accept manslaughter charges".

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2024

He also plays the old trick of presenting as a fait accompli what is, in fact, the nub of the argument, and to give the force of inevitability to something contingent.

From "Words Like Loaded Pistols" by Sam Leith