Dictionary

fait accompli en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˌfeɪt.əˌkɔmˈpli/
• /ˌfeɪt.əˈkɔm.pli/
• /fɛt-/
• (US) audio

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from French fait accompli.

Meanings

1. Something which has already happened, before those affected had the chance to raise objections or queries; especially, such a thing that cannot be undone.
   • “In quarters where the fait accompli is an object of solicitude,” said Yeovil. 1913, Saki, When William Came, Chapter VII:
   • The phrase “Spanish Conquest” and all it implies has come down through history because the Spaniards were so concerned to depict their endeavors as conquests and pacifications, as contracts fulfilled, as providential intention, as faits accomplis. 2003, Matthew Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 65:
   • Mr. Quiverful's appointment to the hospital was, however, a fait accompli, and Mr. Harding's acquiescence in that appointment was not less so. 1857, Anthony Trollope, “Mr. Slope’s Parting Interview with the Signora”, in Barchester Towers. […], copyright edition, volume II, Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, published 1859, →OCLC, page 272:
   • [Hal] Varian awards surveillance capitalists the privilege of the experimenter's role, and this is presented as another casual fait accompli. 2018, Shoshana Zuboff, chapter 10, in The Age of Surveillance Capitalism:
   • Thanks to a bureaucratic fait accompli, the demolition was already approved and has already started.
2. An action or establishment that cannot be undone.
   • Near-synonyms: done deal, water under the bridge
   • The introduction of white clover to the Americas is a fait accompli.

Forms

Coordinates

end run

Relateds

accomplished · that horse is out of the barn · that genie is out of the bottle · that ship has sailed · Pandora's box has been opened · that train has left the station · established

Synonyms

done deal · water under the bridge

Translations (34)

pt fato consumado (an accomplished fact) · fa عمل انجامشده (an accomplished fact) · is búið og gert (an accomplished fact) · th เรื่องที่ยุติแล้ว (an accomplished fact) · ky факт (an accomplished fact) · da fait accompli (an accomplished fact) · ky болгон иш (an accomplished fact) · he עובדה מוגמרת (an accomplished fact) · it fatto compiuto (an accomplished fact) · ja 既成事実 (an accomplished fact) · he מעשה עשוי (an accomplished fact) · nl voldongen feit (an accomplished fact) · mk свршен чин (an accomplished fact) · sv fullbordat faktum (an accomplished fact) · tr emrivaki (an accomplished fact) · pl fakt dokonany (an accomplished fact) · uk доко́наний факт (an accomplished fact) · is orðinn hlutur (an accomplished fact) · pt fait accompli (an accomplished fact) · cmn 既成事實 /既成事实 (an accomplished fact) · es hecho consumado (an accomplished fact) · hu kész helyzet (an accomplished fact) · ar أَمْر وَاقِع (an accomplished fact) · de Fait accompli (an accomplished fact) · de vollendete Tatsache (an accomplished fact) · fr fait accompli (an accomplished fact) · tr oldubitti (an accomplished fact) · el τετελεσμένο γεγονός (an accomplished fact) · az baş tutmuş fakt (an accomplished fact) · tr olupbitti (an accomplished fact) · fi tapahtunut tosiasia (an accomplished fact) · ru постфа́ктум (an accomplished fact) · bg свършен факт (an accomplished fact) · ru сверши́вшийся факт (an accomplished fact)