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Recent Examples of agent provocateur
There is the buffer, the confidante, the agent provocateur.
—
George Caulkin, New York Times, 7 July 2025
But De Niro’s attempt at playing agent provocateur stumbled badly: His decision to stand outside the New York Trump trial cost the actor his credibility.
—Armond White, National Review, 5 June 2024
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
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
George Caulkin, New York Times, 7 July 2025
But De Niro’s attempt at playing agent provocateur stumbled badly: His decision to stand outside the New York Trump trial cost the actor his credibility.
—Armond White, National Review, 5 June 2024
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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agent provocateur
Noun
-
Hegseth likened the Colombian rebel group to the Al Qaeda terror group founded by Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan.—
Stephen Sorace,
FOXNews.com,
19 Oct. 2025
-
The Moscow meeting was remarkable given that Russia is harboring Syria’s former president, Bashar al-Assad, whose government was overthrown by rebels led by al-Sharaa.—
Ben Smith,
semafor.com,
17 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The best challenger brands think like cultural insurgents.—
Erik Huberman,
Rolling Stone,
10 Oct. 2025
-
Islamist insurgents have since May attacked Malian and foreign-owned businesses, including cement factories, sugar factories, and mines.—
Preeti Jha,
semafor.com,
10 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
For too long in Kansas, the Republican Party has been dominated by extremists who see no room for moderation or bipartisanship, let alone unity or mutual respect.—
Matthew Kelly,
Kansas City Star,
15 Oct. 2025
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So what happens when extremists wear their clothes?—
Alexandra Banner,
CNN Money,
15 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Mindy Kaling once called me a Loki, like a bit of a troublemaker.—
Tony Maglio,
HollywoodReporter,
17 Oct. 2025
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Photograph courtesy Peter Matthiessen estate The second of three children, Matthiessen was the resident troublemaker.—
Maggie Doherty,
New Yorker,
13 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Most of the records on the Haitian revolution were written by people who opposed the revolutionaries.—
Julia Gaffield,
The Conversation,
15 Oct. 2025
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The Mexican actor plays revolutionaries in both season 2 of Star Wars series Andor and new movie musical, Kiss of the Spider Woman.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Business leaders and boosters—if not the public library’s archivist—thought rumors and legends and sub-cellars, basements, coal chutes, and other subterranean utility spaces made for a marketable product.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
20 Oct. 2025
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The school needs a coach who can convince boosters to compete for better football players while, more importantly, maximizing the talent on the roster.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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In the article, Roufus criticized promoters who were focused on profits and lacked the experience to safely sponsor fights.—
Cleo Krejci,
jsonline.com,
18 Oct. 2025
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As promoters hit him up to bring Experts Only from Los Angeles to Japan, the final goal of his new empire is to throw parties without even playing at them.—
Jessica Coacci,
Fortune,
18 Oct. 2025
Noun
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The Grand Blanc attack was mentioned briefly on Saturday, Oct 4, at the start of the two-day conference by Elder Gary Stevenson, one of 12 apostles who help lead the church's 17.5 million members worldwide, almost 47,000 of them in Michigan.—
Niraj Warikoo,
Freep.com,
5 Oct. 2025
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Nelson served as an apostle beginning in 1984 and became the church's leader in 2018.—
Mitch Picasso,
FOXNews.com,
28 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 21 Oct. 2025.
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