Synonyms

instigator

American

[in-sti-gey-ter] / ˈɪn stɪˌgeɪ tər /

Rarely instigant

noun

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.

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

instigators

plural

Etymology

Origin of instigator

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

instigator instigators

According to their coach, Romain Haguenauer, this change of music was the result of behind-the-scenes manipulation -- the instigator allegedly an American judge, a compatriot of Chock and Bates.

From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026

"It potentially acts as an instigator of early Alzheimer's pathology."

From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2025

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 ● Dec. 9, 2025

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 ● Nov. 8, 2025

I grinned, not sorry to be the instigator of our new look.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

Loyalist commanders estimate there were half-a-dozen coup instigators and perhaps 40 eager co-conspirators.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 12, 2026

Intervention by the governor and community mediation efforts restored a fragile peace to the area, but the instigators of the violence remain at large.

From Barron's ● Feb. 26, 2026

But LeBron James, one of the instigators during that stretch, missed three point-blank looks at the basket with the Lakers needing to be perfect to have a real chance at a comeback.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2025

He was described as "one of the main instigators".

From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2024

In 2012, several further studies corroborated these initial findings, strengthening the links between these variants of mental illness and family histories and deepening questions about their etiology, epidemiology, triggers, and instigators.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023