COUPS DE MAIN Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

coups de main

noun

plural of coup de main

as in attacks

the act or action of setting upon with force or violence the Continental Army's attack on the British-Hessian encampment at Trenton, New Jersey, ranks as one of the most brilliant coups de main of the war

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for coups de main

Noun

Russia pounded Kyiv for more than 12 hours in a sixth straight night of attacks, killing at least 12 people including six railway workers and an Indian citizen, and devastating civilian districts.

— Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Despite the recent attacks, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told reporters in Caracas, Venezuela that 17 million barrels of oil passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, the largest amount since the conflict began.

— Gordon Lubold, NBC news, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of attacks

Noun

His defense attorney previously said the assaults were not politically motivated and that DeFoor suffers from mental health issues.

— Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 2 Sep. 2026
The strikes marked the sixth straight day of heavy Russian attacks on Kyiv that began last week and are an unprecedented stretch of consecutive aerial assaults since Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbor more than 4½ years ago.

— ABC News, ABC News, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of assaults

Noun

During last year’s raids on homes owned by Kadgien and her sister in Mar del Plata, Argentine police also seized two 19th-century paintings, along with other prints and engravings.

— Sergio Farella, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Ask South Florida and Iowa State fans for their feelings on the roster raids Alex Golesh and Matt Campbell did at Auburn and Penn State.

— Matt Baker, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of raids

Noun

However, Iran analysts are highly skeptical that Tehran will prove capable of launching any such large-scale ground offensives any time soon.

— Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Israel’s ongoing offensives have become a wedge issue for Jewish and non-Jewish Americans, leading to protests and raising antisemitism fears and questions about America’s close ties to Israel.

— David Crary, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of offensives

Noun

Jacobs, 28, was arrested May 26 by the Hobart/Lawrence Police Department on suspicion of five offenses related to domestic abuse and released the next day.

— Devon Henderson, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
The charges included conspiracy against the internal and external security of the state, forming or joining a terrorist organization and offenses related to attempts to change the form of the state.

— ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of offenses

Noun

In fact, reported evidence suggests this software commitment (from a company making its revenue from hardware) has been crucial to Nvidia’s success in fending off onslaughts from other hardware vendors such as Intel.

— Nisha Talagala, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Ukraine has been largely helpless in similar Russian onslaughts in recent weeks.

— Tom Bowman, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of onslaughts

Noun

The attacks have brought shortages for ordinary Russians, though its strikes have not been as deadly for civilians.

— ABC News, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
The number of bears killed by motor vehicle strikes, euthanized as nuisances because of conflicts with humans or poached in the Central Florida region over the past decade total about 1,900.

— Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of strikes

Noun

On Thursday, the Southeastern Conference sued Kiffin and LSU in federal court over his attempts to add players (Wright and Zxavian Harris) who spent the summer practicing with NFL teams, while a Baton Rouge judge ruled in favor of the players.

— Matt Baker, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Their messages suggested coordination rather than isolated attempts to complete individual objectives.

— Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of attempts

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.

Browse Nearby Words

coups de grâce

coups de main

courage

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“Coups de main.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coups%20de%20main. Accessed 6 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of coups de main

noun

Example Sentences

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