putsch

noun \ ˈpu̇ch \

|Updated on: 6 Jun 2018

Definition of putsch

: a secretly plotted and suddenly executed attempt to overthrow a government

putsch was our Word of the Day on 03/06/2012. Hear the podcast!

Recent Examples of putsch from the Web

The 2014 coup was the second military putsch aimed at unseating a political force loyal to Thaksin Shinawatra, a former telecommunications magnate who served as prime minister from 2001 to 2006.

— New York Times, "Anniversary of Thai Coup Draws Uneasy Protest and Police Threats," 22 May 2018
That led to his ouster by another putsch in August 1983 headed by his own defense minister.

— sonia perez d., USA TODAY, "Former Guatemala dictator Rios Montt, 91, dies facing genocide charges," 3 Apr. 2018
In power, Rios Montt alienated a broad spectrum of society, including the military, businesspeople and the Catholic Church, leading to his ouster by another putsch in August 1983 led by his own defense minister.

— Time, "Former Guatemala Dictator Efrain Rios Montt Dies at 91," 1 Apr. 2018
The Justice Ministry said in July that more than 50,000 people had been arrested and 169,013 subjected to legal proceedings since the putsch.

— Washington Post, "World Digest: Sept. 18, 2017," 18 Sep. 2017
The same month, the army orchestrated its latest coup, one of a dozen successful putsches carried out since Thailand abandoned absolute monarchy in 1932.

— hannah beech, New York Times, "Yingluck Shinawatra, Ex-Leader Who Fled Thailand, Gets 5-Year Sentence," 27 Sep. 2017
Meanwhile, May, whose leadership has looked shaky since June’s election, is beset by constant rumors of a putsch in her Conservative party.

— rachel elbaum, NBC News, "European Shift: Generation of Young Leaders Sweeps To Power Across Continent," 17 Oct. 2017
But any trace of American involvement in the putsch had been wiped from the report, causing historians to call it a fraud.

— jon gambrell, chicagotribune.com, "US quietly publishes once-expunged papers on 1953 Iran coup," 29 June 2017
The number of lèse-majesté cases has exceeded 100 since the putsch.

— feliz solomon, Time, "Thai Activist Sentenced 2.5 Years in Prison for Sharing an Article on Facebook," 15 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'putsch.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Did You Know?

In its native Swiss German, putsch originally meant "knock" or "thrust," but these days both German and English speakers use it to refer to the kind of government overthrow also known as a coup d'état. Putsch debuted in English shortly before the tumultuous Kapp Putsch of 1920, in which Wolfgang Kapp and his right-wing supporters attempted to overthrow the German Weimar government. Putsch attempts were common in Weimar Germany, so the word appeared often in the stories of the English journalists who described the insurrections. Adolf Hitler himself even attempted a putsch (known as the Beer Hall Putsch), but he ultimately gained control of the German government via other means.