Meaning & use
sans faute
Last updated
Meaning
phrasefixed phraseformalliterary
Without making any mistake; done perfectly and completely.
Grammar: Used mostly after a verb as an adverbial phrase: he completed it sans faute.
Patterns
- do something sans faute
- complete something sans faute
She recited the whole poem sans faute, not missing a single line.
The accounts were prepared sans faute, which impressed the auditors.
Common combinations
- performed sans faute
- The difficult piano piece was performed sans faute.
- sans faute in every detail
- The translation was accurate sans faute in every detail.
- finish sans faute
- He managed to finish the routine sans faute.
- sans faute from start to finish
- Her performance was sans faute from start to finish.
Synonyms and how they differ
- flawlessly
- A common adverb meaning with no faults; it is far more everyday than the borrowed phrase sans faute.
- perfectly
- Broader and more neutral; use it when you simply mean 'very well', not specifically 'with no errors'.
- faultlessly
- Very close in meaning and register, but still an ordinary English adverb rather than a French borrowing.
Opposites
Commonly confused: sans faute or sans?
sans faute vs sans
On its own, sans is a literary preposition meaning 'without' (sans shoes); sans faute is a fixed phrase meaning 'without a mistake'.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'sans faute' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Sans faute' is an adverbial phrase meaning 'with no mistakes', so it describes how something was done, as in option 0. The others treat it as an adjective or verb, which it is not.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “sans faute”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.