Phrase guide

comme il faut

adj · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

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  • General-American: /ˌkʌmilˈfoʊ/
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌkʌmiːlˈfəʊ/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Proper; in keeping with etiquette or social standards.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • 2007: Talking during performances is perfectly comme il faut in Wharton – why else go to a show if not to talk to one’s friends? – so while Miss Shaw, up to her bosom in dirt, went on about existence, I asked my female companion for advice. — Deborah Friedell, ‘Short Cuts’, London Review of Books 29:5

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adjective satellite

Meaning 2

according with custom or propriety

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • her becoming modesty
  • comely behavior
  • it is not comme il faut for a gentleman to be constantly asking for money
  • a decent burial
  • seemly behavior

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: becoming, comely, decent, decorous, seemly

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

Borrowed from French comme il faut (literally “as is necessary, as must be”).

Across languages

Translations

10 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Dutch: fatsoenlijk — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • Dutch: net — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • Finnish: asianmukainen — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • French: comme il faut — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • German: wie es sich gehört — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • Italian: come si deve — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • Latin: ut decet — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • Polish: jak trzeba — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • Russian: комильфо́ (komilʹfó) — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards
  • Spanish: como es debido — proper; respectable; in keeping with etiquette or social standards