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In "provocateur," a word borrowed directly from French, one sees the English verb "provoke." Both "provoke" and "provocateur" derive from Latin provocare, meaning "to call forth." Why do we say "provocateur" for one who incites another to action, instead of simply "provoker"? Perhaps it's because of "agent provocateur," a term of French origin that literally means "provoking agent." Both "agent provocateur" and the shortened "provocateur" can refer to someone (such as an undercover police officer or a political operative) whose job is to incite people to break the law so that they can be arrested, but only "provocateur" is used in English with the more general sense of "one who provokes."
Synonyms of provocateur
Examples of provocateur in a Sentence
George Varga, San Diego Union-Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
The decline of mainstream Christian voices in recent decades left a vacuum that the most extreme ideologues and provocateurs eagerly filled.
—Hillary Rodham Clinton, The Atlantic, 29 Jan. 2026
In 1988, when the Sun-Times sports section was seeking a provocateur, Boers was the choice.
—Phil Rosenthal, Chicago Tribune, 24 Jan. 2026
Local far-right provocateur David Pettinger attended the Wednesday hearing to air rumors that swirled online that the bill was backed by Israel, which is thousands of miles away.
—Idaho Statesman, 23 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for provocateur
Cite this Entry
“Provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/provocateur. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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