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
  • Then in 1973, Nixon and Henry Kissinger, his secretary of state, plotted the overthrow of yet another democracy in Chile, propping up the brutal dictator Augusto Pinochet.
    Ta-Nehisi Coates, Vanity Fair, 15 June 2026
  • The overthrow of the regime is the responsibility of the Iranian people and their organized Resistance.
    Benjamin Weinthal, FOXNews.com, 15 June 2026
Noun
  • Republicans are grinning at the prospect of a progressive revolt, as Democratic moderates within the party warn that tip-toeing too far to the left could shoo away general election voters.
    Phillip M. Bailey, USA Today, 10 Dec. 2025
  • Oil expected to last only one night endured for eight during the Maccabee revolt.
    Jose R. Gonzalez, AZCentral.com, 10 Dec. 2025
Noun
  • The former president is currently on trial for insurrection, while prosecutors have reportedly sought a 15-year prison term for former prime minister Han Duck-soo.
    Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 3 Dec. 2025
  • More than a dozen military commanders, Yoon's defense minister and interior minister, as well as his prime minister Han Duck-soo, have also been indicted for varying degrees of involvement in the alleged insurrection.
    NPR, NPR, 3 Dec. 2025
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
  • Since gaining independence from France in 1960, the CAR has seen decades of political instability including six coups and weak state authority with armed insurgencies fuelimh violence and risk of mass atrocities against civilians.
    Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 11 June 2026
  • But the timeline depends on stability in northern Mozambique, where an armed insurgency has disrupted work and delayed earlier project milestones.
    Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 10 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 18 Jun. 2026.

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