provocateur

[pruh-vok-uh-tur, -toor, praw-vaw-ka-tœr]

noun

plural

provocateurs 

1. a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator.

2. (italics),  agent provocateur.

provocateur

/ prəˌvɒkəˈtɜː /

noun

1. a person who deliberately behaves controversially in order to provoke argument or other strong reactions

Word History and Origins

Origin of provocateur¹

1915–20; < French < Latin prōvocātor challenger, appellant, equivalent to provocā ( re ) to provoke + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

Reckzeh had been set up as a spy and agent provocateur by the Gestapo: Thadden had been fooled by his elaborately constructed cover story.

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A YouTube provocateur, Kaiser has talked about a much more radical attack on government, akin to President Javier Milei’s in neighboring Argentina, and a bigger role for the armed forces.

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Fuentes famously spent years harassing Kirk and his Turning Point staff at similar college campus events before Kirk banned the provocateur.

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So do Internet provocateurs, represented here by Ann Coulter, pretty much playing herself and proving that it isn’t an act.

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Avtandil Imnadze, 85, who was a political prisoner in the Soviet Union, said "the attempt to storm the presidential palace was the work of provocateurs."

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• anarchist 
• demagogue 
• firebrand 
• malcontent 
• propagandist 
• protestor www.thesaurus.com
• radical 
• troublemaker 
• zealot