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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
Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 12 Mar. 2026
Lost in all the heated rhetoric is the fact that so much of this turmoil would have been avoided if federal detainers were simply honored within local jails and state prisons — away from the public and professional provocateurs who are drawn to uncivil cultural conflict like bees to honey.
—Bob Ehrlich, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2026
The violence erupted during an anti-Islam protest organized by a right-wing provocateur that was dwarfed by more than 100 counterprotesters, officials said.
—Tricia Escobedo, CNN Money, 9 Mar. 2026
Ye’s spokesperson, far-right provocateur Milo Yiannopoulos, defended his boss outside the courtroom.
—Victoria Bekiempis, Vulture, 3 Mar. 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 18 Mar. 2026.
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