coup de théâtre

American  

[kood^uhtey-ah-tr^uh] / kudəteɪˈɑ trə /

noun

French.

plural

coups de théâtre

1. a surprising or unexpected turn of events in a play.

2. a sensational and unexpected turn in the plot of a drama.

3. any theatrical trick intended to have a sensational effect.

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coup de théâtre British  

/ ku də teɑtrə /

noun

1. a dramatic turn of events, esp in a play

2. a sensational device of stagecraft

3. a stage success

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Etymology

Origin of coup de théâtre

literally: stroke of the theatre

Example Sentences

In the final coup de théâtre, a black-and-white environment slowly transforms into a brilliantly green, leafy tree as Ana’s choked syllables become the “I” that her father forbade her to use.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 12, 2026

“Into the Woods” occasioned Peters’ best work, including a duet with Salonga of “Children Will Listen” and a coup de théâtre involving Little Red Riding Hood’s costume.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 14, 2025

When the other dancers let go of the fabric, his spinning winds it around him, gathering it into his whirlpool motion, a coup de théâtre.

From New York Times • Jan. 24, 2024

He out-Brecht-ed Brecht with Peter Weiss’s “Marat/Sade” for the RSC in the 1960s, a shattering coup de théâtre with Glenda Jackson as an asylum inmate and Patrick Magee as the Marquis de Sade.

From Washington Post • Jul. 3, 2022

The girl must be perfectly comfortable and under a sense of all sorts of obligations to him when she received his coup de théâtre.

From Overland by De Forest, J. W. (John William)