Meaning
An accomplished fact: something already done and presented as irreversible, obliging everyone else to accept it. The register is formal, at home in politics, diplomacy and business reporting, and it usually carries the implication that the actor deliberately avoided consulting those affected. Formal and often disapproving, implying that someone acted first and consulted later. Regional use: General English (borrowed from French).
Origin
French for 'accomplished fact' (fait = fact or deed, from faire, to do; accompli = accomplished). Merriam-Webster dates the first known use in English to 1845, and Dictionary.com records the borrowing between 1835 and 1845. From the start English used it for the tactic of presenting others with a completed action instead of consulting them first, a manoeuvre familiar from diplomacy, and that tactical flavour survives in the phrase's modern use. The French plural faits accomplis is retained in formal writing.
Research Sources
References used to check this entry’s meaning, history, or documented forms.
Variants
- fait accomplis
- faits accomplis
Usage Examples
- By announcing the merger on Friday afternoon, the board presented the staff with a fait accompli.
- The demolition proceeded quietly, and neighbours woke to a fait accompli of rubble and dust.
- Diplomats complained that the signatories had treated the border change as a fait accompli.