as in attacks
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
the Continental Army's attack on the British-Hessian encampment at Trenton, New Jersey, ranks as one of the most brilliant coups de main of the war
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coups de main
Noun
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According to the independent National Institute for Security Studies in Israel, at least 1,116 people have been killed amid the Israeli attacks in Lebanon since the parallel Iran war began.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
28 Mar. 2026 -
Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has its own navy that also relies on smaller vessels to do swarm attacks and drop mines.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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According to state officials, the assaults took place between 2002 and 2008.—
Nick Lentz,
CBS News,
30 Mar. 2026
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Such units have traditionally been used for missions like large-scale evacuations and amphibious operations that require ship-to-shore movements, including raids and assaults.—
James Legge,
CNN Money,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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At least four similar apps were axed in the following days, including Eyes Up, a platform that archived videos of arrests, raids, and abuses by immigration agents.—
Oriana van Praag,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
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No ban on mask-wearing federal agents and no requirements for judicial warrants for immigration raids were in the final deal, which could spark a new clash once Congress returns from spring break.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Putin is widely expected to launch new offensives as the weather in Ukraine improves, piling further pressure on Kyiv.—
Hanna Arhirova,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Mar. 2026
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Nation-states now pair kinetic strikes with digital offensives.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
1 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Five of the seven games during this 1-6 stretch have come against top-10 offenses.—
Anthony Chiang,
Miami Herald,
28 Mar. 2026
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The game, played before a professional women’s sports record crowd of 63,004 fans, was defined by tight defense and solid goalkeeping as both offenses struggled to generate consistent pressure.—
Kyle Newman,
Denver Post,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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When will these onslaughts of cold end?—
Doyle Rice,
USA Today,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Drones take on expanding roles across modern battlefields Uncrewed systems are playing a growing role in modern warfare, handling missions from reconnaissance and artillery spotting to precision strikes.—
Bojan Stojkovski,
Interesting Engineering,
29 Mar. 2026
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Israel announced waves of incoming strikes from Iran on Sunday and explosions could be heard throughout Tehran.—
Sam Metz,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
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An outcry five years ago Missouri’s history with Christian boarding schools is why the previous attempts to pass this kind of legislation failed to get any traction.—
Judy L. Thomas,
Kansas City Star,
31 Mar. 2026
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The 6-foot-10 big man made his first six field-goal attempts and scored 11 points in his first eight minutes of floor time.—
Zack Cox,
Boston Herald,
31 Mar. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Coups de main.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coups%20de%20main. Accessed 2 Apr. 2026.
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