as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent
a calculating provocateur, she has made a career out of controversy for its own sake
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Recent Examples of provocateur
The lariat is the sultry provocateur of the jewelry world, known for its ultra feminine design that elongates the neck and draws attention to the décolletage.
—
Samantha Solomon, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2025
Charlie Kirk was one of the right's preeminent provocateurs.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
The driving force behind the event was a far-right activist and provocateur known as Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
Conservative influencers including Chaya Raichik, author of the anti-trans hate account LibsOfTikTok, trashed those teams while commending those that asked their crowds to pause and reflect on the late provocateur.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for provocateur
Samantha Solomon, Vogue, 18 Sep. 2025
Charlie Kirk was one of the right's preeminent provocateurs.
—Rebecca Morin, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
The driving force behind the event was a far-right activist and provocateur known as Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 16 Sep. 2025
Conservative influencers including Chaya Raichik, author of the anti-trans hate account LibsOfTikTok, trashed those teams while commending those that asked their crowds to pause and reflect on the late provocateur.
—Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for provocateur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provocateur
Noun
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The rebels, led by Deepak Rauniyar and Binod Paudel, fired off a scathing letter to the Academy demanding a full investigation and threatening to blow up Nepal’s Oscar dreams entirely.—
Naman Ramachandran,
Variety,
27 Sep. 2025
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Directed by the iconic Paul Thomas Anderson, One Battle After Another stars DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson, a vigilante and former rebel who is on the run from Penn's Officer Steven Lockjaw.—
Rebecca Aizin,
PEOPLE,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The clearest example of this is Live Nation, the largest concert promoter on the planet, which is betting biggest on Latin America.—
Alex Ashley,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
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The conventional wisdom, shared by event promoters and many at the university, held that the 1920s-era facility just wasn’t equipped for the demands of a big concert production.—
Brian McCollum,
Freep.com,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Country music’s premier agitator, Gavin Adcock, is also on the lineup.—
Joseph Hudak,
Rolling Stone,
25 Sep. 2025
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But while that may serve Natthaphong’s interests to appear as the chief agitator for reform, losing his military foil could conversely prove problematic.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
15 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Eide and other proponents of expanding hospitalization believe the administration could do even more.—
Nathaniel Meyersohn,
CNN Money,
30 Sep. 2025
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Closure of the bike path to undertake this project has drawn opposition from cycling proponents and West Sacramento Mayor Martha Guerrero.—
Ishani Desai,
Sacbee.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The clearest firebrand of the group is Suzanne (Mia Barron), whose patronizing politeness will eventually give way to rage once her views are challenged.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
24 Sep. 2025
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That includes collaborations in-the-round with Denver’s Nathaniel Rateliff and DeVotchKa, as well as indie firebrands The Flaming Lips, in addition to standard orchestral fare and familiar classical-crossover acts such as Andrea Bocelli and Lindsey Stirling.—
John Wenzel,
Denver Post,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has to approve many of those mergers—and Trump stacked the FCC with his supporters.—
Lizz Winstead,
Time,
27 Sep. 2025
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Kneeling was widely used by protesters and supporters after Floyd’s death to signal sympathy with the Black Lives Matter movement and a call for racial justice.—
Michael Dorgan,
FOXNews.com,
27 Sep. 2025
Noun
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One overzealous protester attempted an unsuccessful knife attack on Welles himself.—
Marlene L. Daut
September 22,
Literary Hub,
22 Sep. 2025
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Certain groups who face discrimination and harassment could level the playing field by recording their interactions with others, and at mass protests like the recent events in Nepal, seeing events from a protestor’s point of view could be valuable.—
Cortney Harding,
Forbes.com,
18 Sep. 2025
Noun
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America seems unlikely to be made great again by the demagogues of white nationalism, who cannot help but channel fury over irreversible decline at those who have been working hard, through either literal or spiritual immigration, to become American.—
Pankaj Mishra,
Harpers Magazine,
19 Sep. 2025
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Our shrinking attention span has left us vulnerable to demagogues and misinformation from every direction.—
Doug McIntyre,
Oc Register,
31 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provocateur. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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