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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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 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

Good Good was preparing to lend its name to a PGA Tour tournament this fall, a major coup for a digital upstart that had grown into one of the dominant forces in YouTube golf, with more than 2 million subscribers.

— Rick Maese, Washington Post, 28 Aug. 2026
In 2025 things got more serious for Jair Bolsonaro when he was convicted and sentenced to about 27 years in prison for his role in planning a coup to remain in power after his election defeat.

— Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 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

Not since voters passed Proposition 13, an iconic property tax limit, in 1978 and touched off tax revolts in other states has a California measure potentially affected America’s taxation policies so broadly.

— Dan Walters, Mercury News, 27 Aug. 2026
After years of requesting simpler access to the life-saving therapy – and partially getting it during the pandemic, without negative consequences – many in that world were in full revolt.

— Teri Sforza, Oc Register, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of revolt

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

Udas is among a wave of reform-minded politicians who came to the fore after a popular and violent Gen Z uprising last year toppled the country’s political establishment.

— Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2026
One of the things that was mentioned early on was a change in the regime there, an uprising by the Iranian people against this Islamic theocracy, which has long had control.

— Dana Taylor, USA Today, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of uprising

Noun

At the same time, the Tea Party insurgency in the Republican Party starting in 2010, where many right-wing candidates succeeded, shows there is a pathway for someone on one edge of the political spectrum to win higher office.

— Joanna Ossinger, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026
Mladic first led a Serb insurgency in Croatia before taking over the Bosnian Serb army that was backed by Serbia and then-President Slobodan Milosevic, who also died in the custody of the Hague court in 2006 while on trial for genocide.

— Jovana Gec, Los Angeles Times, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of insurgency

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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 2 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of coup d'état

noun

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