as in successes
a successful result brought about by hard work
winning that big contract was a real coup
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Recent Examples of coups
The country has endured 14 military coups, from the 1889 coup that ended the monarchy and gave birth to the Republic of Brazil to Bolsonaro’s failed 2022 attempt to prevent Lula from taking power.
—
Omar G. Encarnación, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2025
Of all of the casting coups that Anderson has pulled off over the years, the most impressive is still Mark Wahlberg’s turn as Dirk Diggler.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Khanna’s passion and depth of knowledge have yielded many coups, including notable interviews with the Silver Jews’ David Berman, in 2019, and with all the members of Fugazi, in 2024.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Until 2023, populist parties Thaksin backed had won every election since 2001 only to be repeatedly ousted by judicial and military coups—turmoil punctuated by often deadly street protests.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
Uganda’s economy had been devastated by a civil war, coups and an HIV epidemic.
—John Blake, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2025
The country experienced coups in 2006 and 2014.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2025
The revelations included instances of the CIA’s violating its charter with assassinations, coups, dirty tricks, human drug experimentation, and domestic spying, especially on opponents of Nixon’s war in Southeast Asia.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 1 Apr. 2020
Omar G. Encarnación, Foreign Affairs, 29 Sep. 2025
Of all of the casting coups that Anderson has pulled off over the years, the most impressive is still Mark Wahlberg’s turn as Dirk Diggler.
—Alison Willmore, Vulture, 25 Sep. 2025
Khanna’s passion and depth of knowledge have yielded many coups, including notable interviews with the Silver Jews’ David Berman, in 2019, and with all the members of Fugazi, in 2024.
—Jane Bua, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
Until 2023, populist parties Thaksin backed had won every election since 2001 only to be repeatedly ousted by judicial and military coups—turmoil punctuated by often deadly street protests.
—Charlie Campbell, Time, 15 Sep. 2025
Uganda’s economy had been devastated by a civil war, coups and an HIV epidemic.
—John Blake, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2025
The country experienced coups in 2006 and 2014.
—Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2025
The revelations included instances of the CIA’s violating its charter with assassinations, coups, dirty tricks, human drug experimentation, and domestic spying, especially on opponents of Nixon’s war in Southeast Asia.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 1 Apr. 2020
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coups
Noun
-
Milei, who has led the country since December 2023, is now facing off against several threats to his free market movement, including the recent electoral successes of his Peronist rivals and a depletion of his country’s foreign reserves.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
1 Oct. 2025
-
This year’s offseason did not generate the same successes.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One of Vulcan’s early accomplishments was the first use of terrorism charges against an MS-13 leader.—
T. Christian Miller,
ProPublica,
30 Sep. 2025
-
The divergent tones belied the consistent accomplishments of each franchise.—
Andy McCullough,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
One of Kairat’s most notable achievements was winning the inaugural Kazakhstan Cup in 1992, beating Shakhter Karagandy, Zhiger, Vostok, Kaisar and then Fosfor in the final in their own stadium.—
Will Jeanes,
New York Times,
29 Sep. 2025
-
In a video released on social media, Adams spoke with pride about his achievements as mayor, including a drop in violent crime.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coups.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coups. Accessed 5 Oct. 2025.
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