Make Your Point > Archived Issues > FAIT ACCOMPLI
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pronounce
FAIT ACCOMPLI:
Several ways are correct. I suggest "FATE uh kom PLEE."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
If you gaze carefully at the term fait accompli, looking past its obvious Frenchness all the way down to its Latin bits, you'll see that it means "a feat that's been accomplished," or more literally, "a thing that's been completely fulfilled."
That's because, at the heart of words like fait accompli, accomplish, complete, deplete, replenish, and plenty, you find plere, Latin for "fill."
We glimpse plere in these words, too:
1. __plete, meaning "totally filled."
2. __plet__e, meaning "a piece of verbal filler, or a curse word."
3. ___ple__nt, meaning "a full set, or some add-on that brings something to completion."
Can you recall them?
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
"Fait accompli," which we've used in English since 1845 or so, is French for "accomplished fact." That's a "fact" in the sense of a deed, an action, a thing that's been done. So you can think of a fait accompli as an "accomplished feat."
In other words, a fait accompli is an action that has already been done and can't be undone. Often, it's some permanent action that affects people who had no chance to give their input or consent, and by the time they find out about it, it already affects them--which is frustrating and unfair.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, usually the countable kind: "It was a fait accompli." Sometimes the uncountable kind: "It was fait accompli."
Other forms:
The plural is "faits accomplis." Notice the "s" on both "fait" and "accompli." Pronounce it like this: "FATE uh kom PLEEZE."
how to use it:
Since this term is French and a bit rare, we should use it with caution. Still, it's been around in English long enough to stop getting italicized as foreign, so I say, go ahead and use it as long as your tone and your setting are formal.
To use this term in its stricter sense, label something a fait accompli when it's done without the permission or knowledge of the people it affects. "The local authorities planned to bulldoze Arthur Dent's house in order to build a bypass. It was a fait accompli. Terribly inconvenient."
And to use the term more loosely, as many writers do today, label something a fait accompli when it's assumed as a given (assumed that it already happened), or assumed as inevitable (assumed that it will happen). "In Encanto, Isabela's engagement to Mariano is a fait accompli." "The prevalence of certain grammar errors seems a fait accompli: given enough time and enough instances, errors stop being errors."
examples:
"Women in Pants: Even Staid Offices Concede It's Fait Accompli"
— Bernadine Morris, New York Times headline, 2 October 1970
"How was it that King Hamlet's brother, Claudius, succeeded him to the throne when he died and not his son, Prince Hamlet? Claudius planned his coup carefully. He waited until young Hamlet was away at Wittenberg... By the time Prince Hamlet returned to Denmark, it was a fait accompli."
— CatieG, The Guardian, 29 May 2013
has this page helped you understand "fait accompli"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "fait accompli" without saying "something you can't undo" or "a choice made with neither the input nor awareness of whom it affects."
try it out:
In a review of a show that takes place in the near future, Melanie McFarland wrote: "Technology has rendered handheld devices obsolete. Now the data is actually just in our hand. It also goes without saying that the surveillance state* is a fait accompli."
Talk about what it means for the "surveillance state" to be a fait accompli in a fictional future. Do you think it's a fait accompli in our own future, or even our own present? Why or why not?
*A "surveillance state" is a government who routinely spies on, and documents, many aspects of people's lives that should be private.
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game this month is Oddball Recall!
Given some abbreviated definitions and a few letters, try to recall some of the kookiest terms we've studied. To see the answers, scroll all the way down.
Try this set today: Reminds Me of That One Guy.
1. No tech, please: L___ite.
2. Big-budget and squeaky-clean: D_____esque.
3. Intricate, yours for only $10-15 million: F____ge.
4. Does that sword have to loom right here?: D___cl__n.
5. Creepy, and they definitely didn't say "cheese:" d_g____ean.
review this word:
A. FALSE ALARM.
B. OPEN QUESTION.
C. SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCE.
2.
"Fait Accompli" is the title of several films and shorts about murder, zombies, and alien takeovers; it's a title that seems to issue a challenge to its characters: "_____"
A. This is your life, and only you can change it--so, how?
B. This is your life, and there's no changing it--so, what now?
C. This is your life, and you're desperate to change it--but why?
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
On vocabulary...
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
On writing...
How to improve any sentence.
How to motivate our kids to write.
How to stop procrastinating and start writing.
How to bulk up your writing when you have to meet a word count.
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
If you gaze carefully at the term fait accompli, looking past its obvious Frenchness all the way down to its Latin bits, you'll see that it means "a feat that's been accomplished," or more literally, "a thing that's been completely fulfilled."
"Fait accompli," which we've used in English since 1845 or so, is French for "accomplished fact." That's a "fact" in the sense of a deed, an action, a thing that's been done. So you can think of a fait accompli as an "accomplished feat."
Part of speech:
Since this term is French and a bit rare, we should use it with caution. Still, it's been around in English long enough to stop getting italicized as foreign, so I say, go ahead and use it as long as your tone and your setting are formal.
"Women in Pants: Even Staid Offices Concede It's Fait Accompli"
Explain the meaning of "fait accompli" without saying "something you can't undo" or "a choice made with neither the input nor awareness of whom it affects."
In a review of a show that takes place in the near future, Melanie McFarland wrote: "Technology has rendered handheld devices obsolete. Now the data is actually just in our hand. It also goes without saying that the surveillance state* is a fait accompli."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |