instigator

American  

[in-sti-gey-ter] / ˈɪn stɪˌgeɪ tər /

Rarely instigant

noun

1. a person or thing that provokes or incites an action or course: Plays to be performed at the festival focus on a theme of how youth can be the instigators of positive change.

   Peaceful protesters outnumbered the violent instigators, and they kept the demonstration from becoming a riot.

   Plays to be performed at the festival focus on a theme of how youth can be the instigators of positive change.

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Etymology

Origin of instigator

First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin instigātor, equivalent to instigāt(us) + -or -or ² ( def. ); instigate ( def. )

Example Sentences

Béninois are rightly proud of their country's role as the pioneering instigator of the wave of peaceful mass protest and democratisation that swept across francophone Africa in the early 1990s.

From BBC

Crockett called Greene an “instigator” who can’t stand a taste of her own medicine.

From Salon

Banjo and string player Matt Worley was “Saving Grace’s” musical instigator, approaching Plant at a pub.

From Los Angeles Times

But whether it is an unexpected jump in claims costs or lower premiums that are the instigator, the upshot is that auto-insurance underwriting might now be past its peak profitability.

From The Wall Street Journal

In the meeting, he promised the "entire state apparatus" was "fully mobilised to track down the perpetrators and instigators of this violence and put them out of action", according to French media reports.

From BBC

Related Words

• ringleader