agent provocateur
noun
agent pro·vo·ca·teur
ˈä-ˌzhäⁿ-prō-ˌvä-kə-ˈtər 
ˈā-jənt-prō-ˌvä-kə-ˈtər
ˈā-jənt-prō-ˌvä-kə-ˈtər
plural agents provocateurs
ˈä-ˌzhäⁿ-prō-ˌvä-kə-ˈtər
ˈā-jən(t)s-prō-
: one employed to associate with suspected persons and by pretending sympathy with their aims to incite them to some incriminating action
Examples of agent provocateur in a Sentence
The government used agents provocateurs to try to undermine the opposition party.
Recent Examples on the Web
Members of the crowd accused Epps of being an agent provocateur, which later helped spur the conspiracy theories about him.
—
Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2024
Jester, troubadour, agent provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg rhymed his way through life in a fog of Gitanes smoke, making music of every genre.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023
The Globoplay Original, produced by the company’s journalism arm, examines the lives of those adjacent to the faction through interviews with the contingents’ defenders, defectors, sociologists and an agent provocateur that develops carefully-orchestrated chaos.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 20 Mar. 2023
Anyone who maligns the sultan is immediately thought to be an agent provocateur working for the sultan, and probably is.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2022
The last dispatch from the alien/agent provocateur known as Greg Tate beamed out from perhaps his most inconspicuous dwelling.
—Tirhakah Love, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2021
At the same time, agents provocateurs played a significant role in the turbulence.
—Adam Hochschild, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2019
It is now known who that agent provocateur was that the FBI used and John Brennan used and James Clapper.
—Fox News, 17 May 2018
More in Moving Targets A more sinister possibility is that UFOs are loaded with agents provocateurs sent here to sow the seeds of discord in our society.
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2017
Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 9 Jan. 2024
Jester, troubadour, agent provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg rhymed his way through life in a fog of Gitanes smoke, making music of every genre.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023
The Globoplay Original, produced by the company’s journalism arm, examines the lives of those adjacent to the faction through interviews with the contingents’ defenders, defectors, sociologists and an agent provocateur that develops carefully-orchestrated chaos.
—Holly Jones, Variety, 20 Mar. 2023
Anyone who maligns the sultan is immediately thought to be an agent provocateur working for the sultan, and probably is.
—Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 30 Sep. 2022
The last dispatch from the alien/agent provocateur known as Greg Tate beamed out from perhaps his most inconspicuous dwelling.
—Tirhakah Love, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2021
At the same time, agents provocateurs played a significant role in the turbulence.
—Adam Hochschild, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2019
It is now known who that agent provocateur was that the FBI used and John Brennan used and James Clapper.
—Fox News, 17 May 2018
More in Moving Targets A more sinister possibility is that UFOs are loaded with agents provocateurs sent here to sow the seeds of discord in our society.
—Joe Queenan, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'agent provocateur.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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