variants
or coup d'etat
as in coup
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Recent Examples of coup d'état
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
Bazoum was deposed from power three weeks ago during a coup d'etat that installed a military junta in Niger, and has been imprisoned in the basement of the presidential palace ever since.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 12 Aug. 2023
Fighting began after the RSF attempted to seize control of the Sudanese government in an ongoing coup d'etat.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 18 Apr. 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
In August 1991, hard-liners in the government launched an abortive coup d'etat.
—William Welch and Jorge Ortiz, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022
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
Bazoum was deposed from power three weeks ago during a coup d'etat that installed a military junta in Niger, and has been imprisoned in the basement of the presidential palace ever since.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 12 Aug. 2023
Fighting began after the RSF attempted to seize control of the Sudanese government in an ongoing coup d'etat.
—Justin Klawans, The Week, 18 Apr. 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
In August 1991, hard-liners in the government launched an abortive coup d'etat.
—William Welch and Jorge Ortiz, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022
Recent Examples of Synonyms for coup d'état
Noun
-
Nina and her now ex-husband, Armando, fled Santiago, Chile, in the aftermath of General Augusto Pinochet’s violent coup d’etat in September 1973.—
Pam Kragen,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
28 July 2025
-
Strangely, that letter focused less on trade and more on Trump’s gripes about Brazil’s treatment of its former president, Jair Bolsonaro, who is facing trial over his role in an alleged coup to overturn his 2022 reelection loss.—
Kevin Breuninger,
CNBC,
26 July 2025
Noun
-
Did test audiences revolt over Danica’s death, leading to additional photography?—
Brian Davids,
HollywoodReporter,
20 July 2025
-
That could give him breathing space to announce a truce without suffering a right-wing revolt, The Guardian reported.—
semafor.com,
semafor.com,
8 July 2025
Noun
-
This number approaches Trump's 34 percent approval rating before leaving office at the end of his first term, on the heels of the January 6 insurrection.—
Anna Commander,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 July 2025
-
Behar began, alluding to the 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.—
Matt Webb Mitovich,
TVLine,
23 July 2025
Noun
-
Hard-line Israelis like Netanyahu believe the Palestinians don’t want peace, citing the second Palestinian uprising of the early 2000s, and more recently the Hamas takeover of Gaza two years after Israel withdrew from the territory in 2005.—
Edith M. Lederer,
Chicago Tribune,
28 July 2025
-
Penn North — located at the intersection of Pennsylvania and North Avenue — is infamous not just for the open-air drug market that has festered for years, but as the flashpoint of the 2015 Freddie Gray uprising.—
Christopher Anderson,
Baltimore Sun,
27 July 2025
Noun
-
Buhari’s first term was characterized by war on many fronts, including the Boko Haram insurgency, the secessionist pro-Biafra movement in the east of Nigeria and rampaging Fulani herdsmen across Nigeria.—
Mitchell McCluskey,
CNN Money,
13 July 2025
-
What followed was a maelstrom: insurgency, sectarian bloodshed, and the birth of ISIS.—
Nicholas Creel,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 July 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 Aug. 2025.
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