coup d'état

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

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 The Minister of the Supreme Court of Brazil, Alexandre de Moraes, participates in the plenary session of the Supreme Court (STF) in Brazil on Feb. 20, 2025, after the Attorney General's Office (PGR) indicts the former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, for plotting a coup d'etat in 2023. Dan Mangan, CNBC, 30 July 2025 General Muhammadu Buhari, dictator of Nigeria, following a successful coup d'etat against Shehu Shagari. Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025 Viktor learns of a coup d'etat in his country while at New York's JFK Airport, and, after the U.S. refuses to recognize his passport, he is forced to stay at the airport's terminal. Kevin Jacobsen, EW.com, 20 Mar. 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coup d'état
Noun
  • Mali, alongside neighboring Niger and Burkina Faso, have been wracked by coups in recent years and are now ruled by military leaders who took power by force, pledging to provide more security to citizens.
    ABC News, ABC News, 10 June 2026
  • So securing that role was an immense coup for Goldman.
    Shawn Tully, Fortune, 10 June 2026
Noun
  • Party leader Samvel Karapetyan is on trial for allegedly advocating for the government's overthrow, which the Armenian-Russian billionaire has rejected as a politically motivated case.
    ABC News, ABC News, 7 June 2026
  • After the September 11th attacks and the subsequent overthrow of the Taliban, Islamabad became a vital counterterrorism partner.
    Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 3 June 2026
Noun
  • Somewhere between the airport and the hotel, your gut stages a revolt.
    Ryan Brennan, Charlotte Observer, 12 June 2026
  • Reports of a Republican congressional revolt — like Mark Twain once famously said of a false newspaper report of his death — are greatly exaggerated.
    Carl P. Leubsdorf, Twin Cities, 10 June 2026
Noun
  • And Washington, of course, had nothing to do with instigating or inciting the insurrection.
    New York Times, New York Times, 11 June 2026
  • Animals serve as allies, guides, objects of cruelty and aggression, and as striking metaphors for power, imperialism, and insurrection.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 9 June 2026
Noun
  • Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of NCRI-US, told Fox News Digital that the organization first became focused on stadium surveillance while tracking how Iranian authorities identified protesters during recent uprisings.
    Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 10 June 2026
  • For nearly eight years, the Ukrainian army—with the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion at the vanguard—tried to bludgeon the uprising into submission.
    Wyatt Williams, Harpers Magazine, 9 June 2026
Noun
  • Nigeria faces a complex security crisis, especially in the north, where an insurgency has simmered for more than a decade and where armed groups carry out kidnappings for ransom.
    ABC News, ABC News, 3 June 2026
  • The country, which is largely run by its military, is wrestling with political and economic instability, marked by increasing government repression, terrorism, domestic insurgencies, and huge debts.
    Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 3 June 2026

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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 15 Jun. 2026.

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