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

Flávio has promised to seek a broad amnesty for his father and others convicted over the coup attempt, and to use the presidential pardon power if Congress does not act.

— Alessandra Freitas, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
Jair Bolsonaro is now serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup to overturn that loss.

— Catherine Osborn, NPR, 2 Oct. 2026

Definition of coup

Noun

Sanon’s lawyers argue instead that their client, whom prosecutors portray as a deeply indebted man hoping to replace Moïse through a violent overthrow of his government, had nothing to do with the assassination.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 1 Oct. 2026
This would eventually lead to the overthrow of the tsarist autocracy and the establishment of a constitutional monarchy.

— James Folta, Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026

Definition of overthrow

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

Gómez Vergara’s documentary revisits Chile’s social uprising through a health brigade treating protesters injured by police repression, connecting present violence with dictatorship-era wounds.

— Anna Marie de la Fuente, Variety, 29 Sep. 2026
From 1896 to 1897, the region experienced what would come to be known as the First Chimurenga, a period of uprisings by the Indigenous Ndebele and Shona people against colonial policies.

— Chinatsu Tsuji, Encyclopedia Britannica, 29 Sep. 2026

Definition of uprising

Noun

Balochistan has endured a long-running insurgency by groups that accuse Pakistan of discriminating against the province and exploiting its natural resources.

— MUNIR AHMED, Arkansas Online, 2 Oct. 2026
His moves have led to hopes of eventual stability in a country that was wracked by civil war and the Islamic State insurgency that engulfed northeast and western Iraq for years.

— Matthew Lee, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026

Definition of insurgency

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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 8 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of coup d'état

noun

Example Sentences

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