variants
or coup d'etat
as in coup
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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
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
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In 1996, former President Chun Doo-hwan, an army major general, was convicted for seizing power in a 1979 military coup and presiding over the 1980 Gwangju massacre of pro-democracy demonstrators.—
Helen Regan,
CNN Money,
19 Feb. 2026
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Hearing him recount, in the first person, the exact moment when the coup unfolded was decisive.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
18 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Born on June 25, 1972, in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, Saif al-Islam Gadhafi was the second son of Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled Libya from 1969 until his overthrow and death in 2011.—
Nic Robertson,
CNN Money,
4 Feb. 2026
-
The Smith Act, passed in 1940, curbed speech that advocated the violent overthrow of the government.—
Stephanie A,
The Conversation,
22 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Continue reading … THINK AGAIN — New 'microgeneration' of students revolts against 'cringy' campus wokeness.—
,
FOXNews.com,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Outlets including the Wrap and Hollywood Reporter have reported that top agents including Duffy McSwiggin and Marty Diamond, who represent Joni Mitchell and Coldplay, among others, have led a staff revolt demanding Wasserman leave or sell the firm.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Enter Sun Ra, brimming with eccentric insurrection, claiming his music’s power to topple walls.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
13 Feb. 2026
-
Americans have been skeptical of brown-skinned people since the days of the Alamo, always fearful Latinos are one step away from insurrection and thus must always be subjugated.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
But to head off another mass uprising, the Islamic Republic's leadership knows the best option would be to get sanctions lifted so Iranians can afford food and fuel again.—
Mariia Kashchenko,
CBS News,
17 Feb. 2026
-
Rahman’s main rival, the Bangladesh Awami League party headed by Hasina — who was ousted in the 2024 mass uprising — was banned from the race.—
Julhas Alam,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Feb. 2026
Noun
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The West African nation has been fighting an insurgency for more than a decade, with Boko Haram and its splinter group, the Islamic State of West Africa Province, in addition to several amorphous groups commonly referred to as bandits.—
Pelumi Salako,
Los Angeles Times,
6 Feb. 2026
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Nigeria is in the grip of a complex security crisis, with an insurgency by Islamic militants in the northeast alongside a surge in kidnappings for ransom by gunmen across the northwest and north-central regions over recent months.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Coup d'état.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coup%20d%27%C3%A9tat. Accessed 20 Feb. 2026.
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