coup d'état

noun

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

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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 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 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 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 General Muhammadu Buhari, dictator of Nigeria, following a successful coup d'etat against Shehu Shagari. — Adeola Adeosun, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for coup d'état
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coup d'état
  1. coup
  2. overthrow
  3. revolt
  4. insurrection
  5. uprising
  6. insurgency
Noun
  • Another long-term consequence of the coup, a lack of professional opportunity for Black people in Wilmington, sent Brown packing after high school.
    — Lauren Collins, New Yorker, 3 July 2026
  • Zohran Mamdani’s anti-Israel socialist squad just staged a New York coup.
    — Staff, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
Definition of coup
Noun
  • Still, the timing of Saturday’s announcement suggests the protests — the biggest string of rallies since the overthrow of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000 — have played a role.
    — Reuters, CNN Money, 27 June 2026
  • Haitian soldiers seasoned on American battlefields during the revolution later sparked Haiti’s overthrow of French colonial rule, depriving France of its most profitable slave colony and ending one of the most brutal enslavement of human beings in modern world history.
    — Paul Vallas, Chicago Tribune, 22 June 2026
Definition of overthrow
Noun
  • The people ended up burning down the house of one of the tax collectors, prompting President George Washington to raise the first federal army against them and quickly quell the revolt.
    — Mary Walrath-Holdridge, USA Today, 4 July 2026
  • At once pugnaciously combative and unreservedly sentimental, Landon chose to take the series out with a commentary on class revolt.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 3 July 2026
Definition of revolt
Noun
  • The pair took a big swing in 2022 around the first anniversary of the Capitol insurrection on January 6.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 30 June 2026
  • The violence, described as a failed insurrection by President Cyril Ramaphosa, vandalized more than 160 shopping malls, led to tens of thousands of job losses, and cost the economy roughly $3 billion.
    — Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 29 June 2026
Definition of insurrection
Noun
  • Johnny Knoxville faces a summer camp uprising as his new comedy heads to theaters.
    — Ryan Gajewski, HollywoodReporter, 6 July 2026
  • Egypt’s tourism has started to recover after years of years of political turmoil and violence following the 2011 uprising, as well as the coronavirus pandemic.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 July 2026
Definition of uprising
Noun
  • The province’s right to implement Islamic law was granted by Indonesia’s secular central government around 2005 as part of a peace deal to end a separatist insurgency.
    — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 3 July 2026
  • Since overthrowing the Assad dynasty and taking power in a lightning insurgency in December 2024, Syria’s new rulers have cracked down on militants from the extremist Islamic State group in an attempt to thwart attacks in and around the capital.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 2 July 2026
Definition of insurgency

Browse Nearby Words

coup
coup d'état
coup d'oeil
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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 8 Jul. 2026.

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