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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What Happens Next The jihadist stranglehold on Bamako increases the risk of yet another military coup or of protests that ultimately bring this about.—
Matthew Tostevin,
MSNBC Newsweek,
4 Nov. 2025
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The project cost $3 billion and was disrupted by the 2011 revolution and a coup d’etat in 2013.—
Semafor Events,
semafor.com,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Douglass’s former North Star co-editor, Martin Delany, who had been admitted to Harvard Medical School but was forced out after white students complained, responded to Dred Scott — and the Fugitive Slave Act of 1850 — by writing a novel whose hero escapes bondage and plots an overthrow of slavery.—
Equal Justice Initiative,
USA Today,
6 Nov. 2025
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This led to the overthrow and death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi, and years of chaos and civil strife.—
David Smilde,
Time,
3 Nov. 2025
Noun
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Critiques from the American right, which lament the film’s timely depictions of a police state, immigrant internment camps and leftist revolt, read like ChatGPT essays programmed to write in the voice of Karen.—
Mikey O'Connell,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Nov. 2025
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The film, which is Palestine’s entry for the Best International Feature category of the Oscars, tells the story of the Arab revolt against British colonial rule in Palestine in the 1930s.—
Liz Shackleton,
Deadline,
5 Nov. 2025
Noun
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The host noted the date of the insurrection, following President Joe Biden's win over Trump in the 2020 election for president, early on.—
Raechal Shewfelt,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Jan. 2026
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In the days immediately following the insurrection, the country seemed almost unified in agreement that what had happened at the Capitol was violent and dark.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Midterm elections will see congressional battlegrounds in states where fast-rising electric bills or data center hotspots — or both — are fomenting community uprisings.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
8 Nov. 2025
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Altogether more than 1,000 Israelis were killed in those uprisings, along with many times that number of Palestinians.—
Scott Simon,
NPR,
8 Nov. 2025
Noun
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By then the Defense Department had also been sharing with Venezuelans a secret plan to foment insurgencies called Operation X Zone.—
Kevin G. Hall,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
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The country has for decades grappled with complex security challenges, particularly Islamist insurgencies such as Boko Haram and the Islamic State.—
Micah McCartney,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Coup d'état.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/coup%20d%27%C3%A9tat. Accessed 7 Jan. 2026.
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