coup de grâce

noun

ˌkü-də-ˈgräs 

variants or coup de grace

plural coups de grâce or coups de grace ˌkü-də-ˈgräs 

1

: a death blow or death shot administered to end the suffering of one mortally wounded

2

: a decisive finishing blow, act, or event

The decision to cut funding is the coup de grâce to the governor's proposal.

Did you know?

Borrowed directly from French and first appearing in English at the end of the 17th century, coup de grâce (also sometimes styled without the circumflex as coup de grace) translates literally as "stroke of grace" or "blow of mercy," and originally referred to a mercy killing, or to the act of putting to death a person or animal who was severely injured and unlikely to recover. (In some contexts the term is used to refer to the final act of executing a convicted criminal.) Later, coup de grâce had come to mean "an act or event that puts a definite end to something." Other coup terms that have made the jump from French to English include coup de main, for a sudden, forceful attack, and coup d’état for a violent overthrow of a government usually by a small group.

Synonyms

• determinant
• crusher
• clincher
• ace in the hole
• topper

Examples of coup de grâce in a Sentence

The legislature's decision to cut funding has administered the coup de grâce to the governor's proposal.

the prosecutor presented his coupe de grâce—a videotape of the beating

Word History

Etymology

French coup de grâce, literally, stroke of mercy

First Known Use

1699, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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