agent provocateur

noun

Definition of agent provocateurnext
as in rebel

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of agent provocateur The Italian Marco Materazzi was an agent provocateur, tossing out words about Zidane’s family like a grenade set to spew forth a red mist. — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 31 May 2026 And for good reason; Villanueva spent his four years in office more as an agent provocateur than a public safety official. — The Editorial Board, Daily News, 13 May 2026 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agent provocateur
  1. rebel
  2. insurgent
  3. extremist
  4. troublemaker
  5. revolutionary
  6. booster
  7. promoter
  8. apostle
Noun
  • The rebels, meanwhile, saw a golden opportunity to reopen an airspace long shut by Saudi Arabia.
    — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 2 Aug. 2026
  • The group is led by Iyad Ag Ghaly, a veteran of the Tuareg rebel group and a former Malian diplomat.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 31 July 2026
Definition of rebel
Noun
  • An endorsement in this race could signal a preference for either the insurgent progressive wing of the party or for the more moderate establishment.
    — Maxwell Adler, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
  • Hong, who has run as an insurgent candidate, tried to cast herself as the one who could bring together Republicans, Democrats, independents and democratic socialists.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 29 July 2026
Definition of insurgent
Noun
  • The following day, the state added him to its official register of terrorists and extremists, a designation that obliges Russian banks to freeze his assets.
    — Susie Violet Ward, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
  • The song debuted in 1995, at a Voters for Choice benefit concert hosted by Gloria Steinem, after an antiabortion extremist murdered two women at a Planned Parenthood and another family-planning clinic in Massachusetts.
    — Claire Howorth, Vanity Fair, 29 July 2026
Definition of extremist
Noun
  • In fact, in the early days of Trumpism’s rise the South Carolina Senator attempted to block it from taking hold of a party that, just eight years earlier, had once been helmed by Graham’s best friend and fellow Senate troublemaker John McCain.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 28 July 2026
  • In the movie, Broderick played Ferris, a teenage troublemaker who breaks the rules — and the fourth wall.
    — Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 22 July 2026
Definition of troublemaker
Noun
  • Trump is starving the machine that creates America's socialist revolutionaries.
    — , FOXNews.com, 28 July 2026
  • The monarchy was overthrown in the February Revolution of 1917, and the tsar and his family became prisoners of the revolutionaries.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 9 July 2026
Definition of revolutionary
Noun
  • New York Yankees president Randy Levine and Texas Tech booster Cody Campbell have been helping lead the charge from the committee's standpoint.
    — Trey Wallace OutKick, FOXNews.com, 1 Aug. 2026
  • ArianeGroup has completed a wet dress rehearsal of the Themis reusable booster demonstrator at the Esrange Space Centre in Sweden, European Spaceflight reports.
    — Eric Berger, ArsTechnica, 31 July 2026
Definition of booster
Noun
  • The order is the latest in a long-running SEBI probe into Zee’s promoters.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Lollapalooza’s promoter, C3 Presents, is now on the hook for the cleanup, including what could be a costly restoration of Grant Park’s grass, which had disappeared under the crowds by the festival’s third day.
    — Evgenia Anastasakos, Chicago Tribune, 3 Aug. 2026
Definition of promoter
Noun
  • In his first letter to the Corinthians in the New Testament, the apostle Paul describes bringing together members of the early Christian community across economic divides to share everything in common.
    — Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 30 July 2026
  • Camino de Santiago blends history, spirituality and scenery on the route to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the resting place of the apostle Saint James.
    — Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 10 July 2026
Definition of apostle

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Cite this Entry

“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 4 Aug. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on agent provocateur

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about agent provocateur

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