coup plotters
Would-be government toppers
Coup plotters are people who plan or participate in a coup—an attempt to seize power from an existing government, typically through sudden, forceful, or illegal means.
The term usually appears in news coverage of political upheaval: The coup plotters were arrested before they could reach the capital.
It carries connotations of conspiracy and treachery against established authority.
- conspiratorsSecret joint schemers
- inner circleExclusive group of confidants
- rebelsArmed opposition fighters
- juntaPost-coup ruling clique
- insurrectionistsViolent regime challengers
mutineers · traitors · overthrow · sedition · generals · cabal · takeover · presidential palace · putsch · military · tanks · dawn raid · seize power · palace · radio station · power grab · dictator · assassination
- armed groupsmilitia, guerrillas, insurgents, paramilitary, militias
- dissidentsdissident, dissidents, dissenter, rebel, Sakharov
- insurgentsinsurgent, guerrillas, guerrilla, rebel, resistance fighters
- oppressorstyrants, despots, dictators, autocrats, authoritarians
- secret organizationscabal, secret society, secret societies, conspiracy, spy network