Meaning & use
coup de grâce
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Meanings
nounsingularformal
A final blow, move or event that finishes something off after it has already been weakened.
Grammar: Usually follows the, an or deliver: deliver the coup de grâce. The s is silent.
Patterns
- deliver the coup de grâce
- the coup de grâce to something
The late penalty delivered the coup de grâce to the visitors' hopes.
The new tax was the coup de grâce for the struggling shop.
After weeks of criticism, the leaked report gave the coup de grâce to his campaign.
nounsingularformal
A killing stroke given to a wounded person or animal to end its suffering.
Grammar: Historic or literal sense, less common than the figurative one.
Patterns
- give the coup de grâce
The knight gave his fallen enemy the coup de grâce with a short dagger.
The vet chose the coup de grâce rather than let the horse suffer.
Word forms
| plural | coups de grâce |
|---|
Common combinations
- deliver the coup de grâce
- The champion delivered the coup de grâce in the last round.
- give the coup de grâce
- A single email gave the project its coup de grâce.
- administer the coup de grâce
- The storm administered the coup de grâce to the old pier.
- the final coup de grâce
- The final coup de grâce came when the bank refused credit.
- coup de grâce to
- The scandal was a coup de grâce to his career.
Synonyms and how they differ
- finishing blow
- Finishing blow is the plain-English equivalent and works in any register, while coup de grâce adds a formal or dramatic tone.
- death blow
- Death blow stresses the destruction of something, whereas coup de grâce implies it was already close to failing.
- last straw
- Last straw is the final small event that makes a situation unbearable, whereas coup de grâce actually finishes something off.
- knockout punch
- Knockout punch is more informal and stresses a sudden decisive strike, usually in sport or argument.
Word family
- coup noun
- a sudden successful move, or a seizure of power
- coup d'état noun
- a sudden, often violent, overthrow of a government
- grace noun
- mercy or kindness, from the French source of the phrase
- coup de théâtre noun
- a sudden dramatic turn of events
Commonly confused: coup de grâce or coup d'état?
coup de grâce vs coup d'état
Coup d'état means a sudden overthrow of a government. A coup de grâce is a final blow that ends something, and the two should not be swapped.
Practice
The team was already losing badly, and the injury to their captain was the ___ .
Choose one answer.
A coup de grâce is the final blow that finishes off something already weakened. A coup d'état is a government takeover, which does not fit a sports match.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “coup de grâce”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.