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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coups de main
Noun
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There have been at least 50 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement this year, resulting in 66 officers being shot, 15 of them fatally, according to the report.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025 -
Poor weather and battlefield obscurants continue to endanger warfighters as adversaries rely on these conditions to escape attacks.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The President has even threatened to arrest Mamdani, after the Democratic nominee vowed to push back on Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids.—
Chantelle Lee,
Time,
28 Sep. 2025
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In June 2025, National Guard forces were also deployed to Los Angeles amid protests over immigration raids.—
Billal Rahman,
MSNBC Newsweek,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
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That's my biggest fear every night, especially with these increases [in assaults], that everyone gets home safe every night.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
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Starting in the early '70s, Shakur had frequent run-ins with law enforcement, her name appearing as a person of interest for bank robberies and several violent assaults on police officers.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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For too long, Peterson has struggled to throw strikes.—
Will Sammon,
New York Times,
24 Sep. 2025
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Israel has carried out waves of strikes targeting Houthi military facilities and civilian infrastructure the IDF says is used by the Houthis.—
Eugenia Yosef,
CNN Money,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Dart connected on 13 of his 20 pass attempts in the home win at MetLife Stadium, logging 111 yards and a passing touchdown.—
Matt Audilet,
MSNBC Newsweek,
29 Sep. 2025
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App State’s Swann completed just 11 of his 24 pass attempts, and no completion went farther than 12 yards.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Glen Powell’s rapid ascent from working actor to movie star constitutes one of Hollywood’s great charm offensives.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
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Future offensives by Russia would then become strategically futile, and thus not worth attempting.—
ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Sep. 2025
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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 1 Oct. 2025.
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