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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."
Examples of provocateur in a Sentence
Richard Hall, Time, 11 Sep. 2025
Gibby was the absolute provocateur.
—Pat Blashill, Rolling Stone, 28 Aug. 2025
Tap Their Outsider Perspective For Clarity Startups can treat fractional CxOs as catalytic provocateurs: someone who brings concentrated insight without being absorbed into the daily operational fog.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes.com, 25 Aug. 2025
So instead of making these obvious points to union provocateurs such as Davis Gates, our political leaders treat her with kid gloves.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for provocateur
Cite this Entry
“Provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/provocateur. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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