a foregone conclusion — inevitable outcome
collocationC1IELTS 7+neutraloccasional
a result or decision that is certain to happen and cannot be avoided, often because everything leading up to it makes it obvious.
Say it like a native
Textbook The outcome was predetermined and inevitable from the very outset.
Native The result was a foregone conclusion.
The idiom packs 'obvious in advance' into three words; the paraphrase is clunky.
Pattern: it is/was a foregone conclusion (that) + clause | something is a foregone conclusion
In use
- With their star player back on the team, victory was a foregone conclusion.daily life
- In my opinion, given the current trends in technology, it's almost a foregone conclusion that more jobs will become automated in the near future.IELTS speaking
Common mistake
✗ It was a forgone conclusion.
✓ It was a foregone conclusion.
Spelled 'foregone' (fore + gone), not 'forgone'.
Common collocations
a foregone conclusion— by no means, far from, seemed, treated as
Don't confuse it
Unlike simply saying 'an obvious result' or 'an expected outcome', 'a foregone conclusion' emphasizes that there was never any real doubt about the result.