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

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

If we find in coming months or years that any of the 12 dead at the Downs tested hot, then we can mark the FTC's ruling as the moment of fait accompli.

From Salon • Jun. 10, 2023

Lawrence responded to the summons by informing Compton, as a fait accompli, that he would be introducing a new participant to the technical roundtable: Robert Oppenheimer.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik