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

As for the Speed, the museum returned three ceremonial objects (a rattle, a beaded pipe bag, and a beaded turtle amulet) and 21 other items, among them beaded pouches and bags, moccasins, a coup stick, a cradleboard, and a lance.

— Leigh Anne Miller, ARTnews.com, 19 Aug. 2026
Wild Horse Nine stars Malkovich and Rockwell as two CIA operatives who travel from Santiago, Chile, to Easter Island amid the tense lead-up to the South American nation’s 1973 coup.

— Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of coup

Noun

The ultraconservative religio-political movement emerged that year amid the civil war that followed the Soviet withdrawal from Afghanistan in 1989 and the overthrow of the communist government in 1992 (see Afghan War).

— Andrew Pereira, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2026
Iran has had substantial influence there since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003.

— Tim Lister, CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of overthrow

Noun

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
Stephen Colbert’s award-winning Late Show was canceled in a move that many have labeled political appeasement, and the flagship evening newscast baselessly recast the January 6 insurrection as a partisan squabble.

— Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Fortune, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of insurrection

Noun

That summer, Detroit was paralyzed by a violent uprising, which erupted after the city’s predominantly white police force raided a night club in a Black neighborhood.

— Rozina Ali, New Yorker, 21 Aug. 2026
And much of that goes back to a 1989 uprising and crackdown known as El Caracazo.

— Tibisay Zea, Christian Science Monitor, 21 Aug. 2026

Definition of uprising

Noun

In 2005, for example, former Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari brought Indonesian officials together with exiled Acehnese separatist leaders to end a decades-long insurgency in Aceh, a province on Sumatra.

— Matt Waldman, Foreign Affairs, 13 Aug. 2026
Continue reading … PARTY DIVIDED — Schumer dealt another blow as progressive insurgency scores win in key Senate battle.

— , FOXNews.com, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of insurgency

Browse Nearby Words

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 26 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of coup d'état

noun

Example Sentences

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