Definition

1. Noun:
   • A final, decisive, or finishing blow or action: Specifically, the "coup de grâce" is the final stroke or action that ends something, originally and most literally a merciful death blow to end suffering.
   • An event or action that finally ends or destroys something that is already weakened or failing: It is used figuratively to describe an action that conclusively finishes off a situation, plan, or endeavor.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The scandal was the coup de grâce that ended the politician's career.
  • After the company lost its major investor, the lawsuit delivered the coup de grâce.
  • The hunter administered the coup de grâce to the wounded animal to end its suffering.

Advanced Usage

• "to deliver/administer the coup de grâce": To be the one who performs the final, finishing action.
  • The final goal in the last minute delivered the coup de grâce to the opposing team's hopes.
• Used figuratively in contexts like business, politics, sports, and personal situations to signify a definitive end.

Variants and Related Words

• Finishing stroke (n): A final, concluding action.
• Death blow (n): An action or event that causes the end or failure of something. (This is a close synonym but can lack the nuance of merciful finality.)
• Kiss of death (n): An action or event that guarantees failure. (This idiom implies causing ruin rather than a merciful end.)

Synonyms

• Finishing blow
• Final stroke
• Death knell (when referring to an event that signals the end)

Notes on Form and Origin

• The term is borrowed from French, literally meaning "stroke of grace" or "blow of mercy."
• It is often seen in its original French form, coup de grâce, and is sometimes Anglicized as "coup de grace" (without the circumflex accent).
• The plural form is coups de grâce.

Noun

1. the blow that kills (usually mercifully)