COUP D'ÉTAT Synonyms: 20 Similar and Opposite Words

coup d'état

noun

variants or coup d'etat

Definition of coup d'état

as in coup

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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 General Muhammadu Buhari, dictator of Nigeria, following a successful coup d'etat against Shehu Shagari. — Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 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 See All Example Sentences for coup d'état

Recent Examples of Synonyms for coup d'état

Noun

In those years many Latin American countries had repressive governments, military coups, dictatorships, and undeclared wars against the poor and the indigenous population, which were backed by the CIA in the context of the Cold War.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 18 Sep. 2026
The ride was supposed to be a public relations coup for its manufacturer, Arrow Dynamics.

— Fedor Zarkhin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of coup

Noun

Of these three films, The Uprising is admittedly the least heist-explicit; Paul Greengrass’s shaky cam mostly follows marching mobs lambasting the king and furious revolts against soldiers and tax collectors.

— Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026
Advertisement By midsummer, the revolt reached its breaking point.

— JP Mangalindan, Time, 11 Sep. 2026

Definition of revolt

Noun

Amendment is also a constitution’s mechanism for the prevention of insurrection.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026
As Port falls in with a group of conspirators preparing for the insurrection, the book takes on a hallucinatory, digressive quality, blurring the lines between life and death, reality and illusion.

— The New Yorker, New Yorker, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of insurrection

Noun

There were, of course, more people protesting than in 1848, the first modern wave of uprisings, known as the Springtime of the Peoples.

— Rachel Nolan, The New York Review of Books, 19 Sep. 2026
The uprising also brought people working in different movements closer together.

— Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 17 Sep. 2026

Definition of uprising

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coup

coup d'état

coup d'oeil

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“Coup d'état.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coup%20d%27%C3%A9tat. Accessed 23 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of coup d'état

noun

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