instigator
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.
instigators
-
pluralof instigator.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
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.
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
Claire Chase, who has been one of the most influential instigators of the Pauline Oliveros revival, was this year’s Ojai Festival energizer bunny.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 10, 2025
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 ● May 27, 2025
Astonishingly, one of the main instigators was Mikhail Gorbachev.
From "Spies: The Secret Showdown Between America and Russia" by Marc Favreau
