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countercoup

American  
[koun-ter-koo] / ˈkaʊn tərˌku /

noun

countercoups plural
  1. a coup aimed at the replacement of a government that itself achieved power through an earlier coup.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of countercoup

First recorded in 1960–65; counter- + coup 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

The king and his family then relocated to northern Greece, seeking to lead a countercoup.

From Washington Post Jan. 11, 2023

A few months later, he was forced to flee the country after leading an unsuccessful countercoup against the then military junta.

From Reuters Jan. 10, 2023

Riyadh was so outraged by the 1995 coup that it tried to reinstall Khalifa with a countercoup a year later.

From Washington Times Oct. 4, 2017

Eight months later, a countercoup mounted by King Constantine II failed.

From New York Times Oct. 8, 2010

Caramanlis will also have to decide what to do about King Constantine, in exile since the failure of his attempted countercoup against the junta in December 1967.

From Time Magazine Archive

Because Sudan’s history since independence in 1956 has been marked by revolutions, dictatorships, coups and countercoups, many Sudanese have a revolutionary mind-set, but even more have become hardened pragmatists.

From Washington Post Dec. 20, 2021

West Africa has long been riddled by coups and countercoups.

From Washington Post May 31, 2015

He was able to end a disruptive cycle of coups and countercoups that had followed the assassination of Ngo Dinh Diem, whose repressive regime was overthrown by military generals in 1963.

From New York Times Jul. 23, 2011

The next few years saw a series of military coups and countercoups.

From Time Magazine Archive

Shortly past noon on Friday, the station began amusing listeners across the Caribbean with hot flashes about coups and countercoups.

From Time Magazine Archive

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