fait accompli

noun

fait ac·​com·​pli ˈfā-tə-ˌkäm-ˈplē 

ˈfe-,

ˈfe-ˌta- 

-ˌkōⁿ(m)-,

 British usually  -ˈkäm-(ˌ)plē

plural faits accomplis ˈfā-tə-ˌkäm-ˈplē(z) 

ˈfe-,

ˈfe-ˌta-,

-ˌkōⁿ(m)-,

 British usually  -ˈkäm-(ˌ)plē(z)

: a thing accomplished and presumably irreversible

he charged that the members were presented with a fait accompli instead of being called to a meeting to discuss the policy change

—Daniel Thomases

Examples of fait accompli in a Sentence

By the time we learned about the decision, it was already a fait accompli.

Recent Examples on the Web

That the Royals will move into a new stadium has been treated as a fait accompli, as if all that’s left to decide are the details. —Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 25 Mar. 2024

But unlike bitcoin’s decision day in early January, which seemed to be a fait accompli, ether’s outlook is far less certain. —Forbes Daily, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2024

The end result now seems like fait accompli: The crowd in the ballroom of a Pasadena Hilton went wild just before 1 a.m. on Nov. 8, 2000, as Schiff declared victory. —Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 18 Feb. 2024

Allen’s takeout of Paramount is not a fait accompli. —Todd Spangler, Variety, 31 Jan. 2024

Not officially, of course; at this stage, the fact that Hayes will be the next coach of the U.S. women’s team is merely an open secret, a fait accompli that must — for now — remain swaddled by a warm blanket of euphemism. —Rory Smith, New York Times, 10 Nov. 2023

But even if Washington and its partners are able to prevent the PLA from seizing Taiwan through a fait accompli, Beijing still might be unwilling to accept defeat. —Andrew F. Krepinevich, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023

Residents say the meetings were unsatisfactory because the company presented the pylons as a fait accompli. —Stanley Reed, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2023

So the couple presented him with a fait accompli: in 1601, after four years of courtship, they were secretly married by a priest who was Donne’s friend. —Adam Kirsch, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2022

Word History

Etymology

French, accomplished fact

First Known Use

1845, in the meaning defined above