COUP D'ETAT

Pronunciation (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does coup d'etat mean? 

• COUP D'ETAT (noun)
  The noun COUP D'ETAT has 1 sense:

1. a sudden and decisive change of government illegally or by force

  Familiarity information: COUP D'ETAT used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• COUP D'ETAT (noun)

Meaning:

A sudden and decisive change of government illegally or by force

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

coup; coup d'etat; putsch; takeover

Hypernyms ("coup d'etat" is a kind of...):

group action (action taken by a group of people)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "coup d'etat"):

countercoup (a sudden and decisive overthrow of a government that gained power by a coup d'etat)

Instance hyponyms:

October Revolution; Russian Revolution (the coup d'etat by the Bolsheviks under Lenin in November 1917 that led to a period of civil war which ended in victory for the Bolsheviks in 1922)