coup d'état

noun

variants or coup d'etat
Definition of coup d'étatnext
as in coup

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of coup d'état General Muhammadu Buhari, dictator of Nigeria, following a successful coup d'etat against Shehu Shagari. — Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025 Spain The former king of Spain, Juan Carlos, saw an explosion of popularity in the 1980s after helping to foil a coup d'etat attempt. — Justin Klawans, theweek, 27 Feb. 2024 The ceremony came after Nguema seized power in a coup d'etat last week, in the latest usurping of control in African countries. — Justin Klawans, The Week, 4 Sep. 2023 Also in attendance at that event was the junta leader who seized power in Guinea a little over a year after Mali's coup d'etat. — Krista Larson, ajc, 24 Sep. 2022 See All Example Sentences for coup d'état
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coup d'état
  1. coup
  2. overthrow
  3. revolt
  4. insurrection
  5. uprising
  6. insurgency
Noun
  • Written and directed by Martin McDonagh, the black comedy follows two CIA agents, played by Malkovich and Sam Rockwell, sent to Easter Island just before the 1973 Chilean coup.
    — Senior Television, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The signing of Luka Vuskovic seems like a coup, while Chema Andres comes highly rated from Stuttgart and Pascal Struijk is a dependable signing in defence.
    — Nick Miller, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of coup
Noun
  • Rahman founded AmeriBangla in 2024 in response to trade disruption after the overthrow of the Awami League regime in Bangladesh.
    — Jennifer Bringle, Footwear News, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The ultraconservative religio-political movement emerged that year amid the civil war that followed the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 and the overthrow of the communist government in 1992 (see Afghan War).
    — Andrew Pereira, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of overthrow
Noun
  • Not since voters passed Proposition 13, an iconic property tax limit, in 1978 and touched off tax revolts in other states has a California measure potentially affected America’s taxation policies so broadly.
    — Dan Walters, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
  • After years of requesting simpler access to the life-saving therapy – and partially getting it during the pandemic, without negative consequences – many in that world were in full revolt.
    — Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of revolt
Noun
  • As Port falls in with a group of conspirators preparing for the insurrection, the book takes on a hallucinatory, digressive quality, blurring the lines between life and death, reality and illusion.
    — The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Stephen Colbert’s award-winning Late Show was canceled in a move that many have labeled political appeasement, and the flagship evening newscast baselessly recast the January 6 insurrection as a partisan squabble.
    — Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of insurrection
Noun
  • Udas is among a wave of reform-minded politicians who came to the fore after a popular and violent Gen Z uprising last year toppled the country’s political establishment.
    — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
  • One of the things that was mentioned early on was a change in the regime there, an uprising by the Iranian people against this Islamic theocracy, which has long had control.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of uprising
Noun
  • But the problem that helped thrust Tinubu’s APC into power is now a multi-headed hydra that goes far beyond the northeastern jihadist insurgency.
    — Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • At the same time, the Tea Party insurgency in the Republican Party starting in 2010, where many right-wing candidates succeeded, shows there is a pathway for someone on one edge of the political spectrum to win higher office.
    — Joanna Ossinger, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of insurgency

Browse Nearby Words

coup
coup d'état
coup d'oeil
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Cite this Entry

“Coup d'état.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coup%20d%27%C3%A9tat. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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