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 The Cardinal was fait accompli as the year wound down, and McNamara joined President-elect Kennedy's administration as secretary of defense. —

Larry Printz, Ars Technica, 26 Sep. 2024 As opposed to solving the problem or mitigating carbon emissions, climate resilience or adaptation assumes climate breakdown is unavoidable, a fait accompli. —

David Introcaso, STAT, 15 Aug. 2024 Under such a scenario, Russia would attempt to seize NATO territory and China would blockade Taiwan as a fait accompli to undermine alliance cohesion. —

Lorenz Meier, TIME, 13 Aug. 2024 In a system predicated on maintaining the status quo, reelection was practically a fait accompli, so long as one did the bare minimum and avoided openly taking bribes. —

Julia Wick, Los Angeles Times, 30 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for fait accompli

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fait accompli.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.