coup

Examples

• All

• But with the Free Officers Movement's coup of July 1952, more dramatic changes were soon to follow.

  Academic text (2013)

• On September 1, 1969, when a group of army captains announced a coup, the only surprise was their identity.

  Academic text (2017)

• The State Department took months to even recognize that a coup had taken place.

  Academic text (2011)

• With no troops to defend against the coup, the government was now in crisis.

• The Nigerian military has never staged a coup in the interests of the majority of Nigerians.

  Academic text (1990)

• The evidence supports only one conclusion: there has been a coup, and Khrushchev was replaced overnight.

  Fiction book (2000)

• There's been a coup d'etat.

  Garfield: A Tail of Two Kitties (2006)

• Nearly all Latin American countries had bitter memories of coups supported by the United States in the 1970s.

  Academic text (2011)

• The OAS could negotiate nothing more than agreements that the coup forces repeatedly broke.

  Academic text (2011)

• The military staged a coup to overthrow the existing government and seize power.

Synonyms

T

takeover

vscoup

• Literature

84 5.4

A sudden illegal action to seize control of a country's government by force

is used for sudden illegal or violent changes of government specifically

O

overthrow

vscoup

29 6.1

The removal of a leader or government from power, often by force

is narrower in that it stresses sudden illegal seizure by a small group

U

usurpation

vscoup

5 9.3

Taking power, position, property or rights without the legal right to do so

is about sudden illegal takeovers often involving force by a small group

P

putsch

vscoup

• Literature

3 9.9

A sudden illegal attempt to take over a government by force

is the general term for abrupt illegal seizures of political power

C

coup d'etat

vscoup

• Literature

8.5

A sudden illegal takeover of a country's government by force

is the neutral term for sudden illegal seizures of political power

G

golpe

vscoup

9.9

A sudden illegal change of government by a small group, often the military

is the broader term covering sudden illegal seizures beyond military actions

Compounds

C

coup de grace

8.4

A final action that ends something, often to stop suffering

C

coup de main

• Jargon

9.9

A sudden surprise attack on a place by soldiers

C

coup de theatre

• Literature

9.9

A sudden dramatic surprise in a play or story that shocks the audience

C

coup de théâtre

• Literature

9.9

A sudden dramatic twist in a play or story that surprises the audience

C

coup d'etat

• Literature

8.5

A sudden illegal takeover of a country's government by force

C

coup d'oeil

• Formal

9.9

A quick look that shows the main parts

How Violent

civil war

285 3.2

coup

• Literature

622 8.1

insurrection

27 9.1

rebellion

128 4.1

revolt

73 4.6

uprising

150 5.1

protest

578 2.5

Surface Forms

Etymology