junta

noun

jun·​ta ˈhu̇n-tə  ˈjən- 

ˈhən-

1

: a council or committee for political or governmental purposes

especially : a group of persons controlling a government especially after a revolutionary seizure of power

a military junta

2

: junto

Examples of junta in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The military ruler, Olusegun Obasanjo, had sent soldiers to high schools across the country to enforce discipline, a measure of how successive juntas ruled the country. —ABC News, 31 May 2026

Mali, a former French colony long gripped by insurgency, is governed by a military junta following consecutive coups in 2020 and 2021. —Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 10 May 2026

The political model encouraged by Russia also worsened the juntas’ situations, especially Mali’s, Riboua explained. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 10 May 2026

The result is a more thoroughly militarized system, but not a military junta in any conventional sense. —Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 9 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Spanish, from feminine of junto joined, from Latin junctus, past participle of jungere to join — more at yoke

First Known Use

1622, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

junta

noun

jun·​ta ˈhu̇n-tə  ˈjənt-ə 

ˈhən-tə

1

: a group of persons controlling a government especially after a revolution

2

: junto