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Recent Examples of agent provocateur
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
Jester, troubadour, agent provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg rhymed his way through life in a fog of Gitanes smoke, making music of every genre.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023
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
It is now known who that agent provocateur was that the FBI used and John Brennan used and James Clapper.
—Fox News, 17 May 2018
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
Jester, troubadour, agent provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg rhymed his way through life in a fog of Gitanes smoke, making music of every genre.
—Roger Cohen, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023
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
It is now known who that agent provocateur was that the FBI used and John Brennan used and James Clapper.
—Fox News, 17 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agent provocateur
Noun
-
Yemen's Houthi rebels, aligned with Iran, have continued to launch attacks in the region despite the truce, including previous drone and missile strikes targeting Israel.—
Amanda Castro
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 June 2025
-
Young-il manages to separate from the group and betrays the rebels, killing two of them and faking his own death.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
23 June 2025
Noun
-
Widely viewed as the most powerful of a broad array of insurgent groups active in northern Syria, HTS withstood regular attacks by the Syrian military, ultimately turning the tide last December.—
Tom O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
14 May 2025
-
In recent years, the PKK has been limited to isolated attacks inside Turkey as the Turkish military, backed by armed drones, has pushed its insurgents increasingly across the mountainous border into Iraq.—
Suzan Fraser,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2025
Noun
-
The division, which patrols downtown, said on X that troublemakers were throwing objects at officers at Los Angeles and Temple streets, adjacent to the federal building.—
Sarah Dean,
NBC news,
10 June 2025
-
Those are but a few of King’s most memorable troublemakers.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
4 June 2025
Noun
-
In the artwork, a militiaman cradles the dying revolutionary, holding out his hand to stop a British soldier from stabbing Warren with a bayonet.—
Eliza McGraw,
Smithsonian Magazine,
17 June 2025
-
Orlando Sentinel Sly Stone, leader of funk revolutionaries Sly and the Family Stone, dies at 82 Stone, born Sylvester Stewart, had been in poor health in recent years.—
Orlando Sentinel Staff,
The Orlando Sentinel,
10 June 2025
Noun
-
Starship's upper stage has exploded and/or crashed into the sea on eight of its nine of its test flights to date (on two launches, the company managed to return the vehicle's Super Heavy booster to Starbase, where it was caught by the 'chopstick' arms on its launch tower).—
Brett Tingley,
Space.com,
27 June 2025
-
If the goal isn’t to replace jobs, frame it as a productivity booster, not a threat.—
Apurva Wadodkar,
Forbes.com,
27 June 2025
Noun
-
His trajectory in the music industry went from concert promoter and artist manager to entrepreneur who launched Absolute Merch with no funding in 2012.—
Andrea Zarczynski,
Forbes.com,
30 June 2025
-
Just hours after tickets went on sale Thursday (June 26) for the legendary rock band’s 2025 stadium tour, promoter TEG Van Egmond has announced second dates in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane due to overwhelming demand.—
Jessica Lynch,
Billboard,
26 June 2025
Noun
-
Popes are considered successors to St. Peter, one of the 12 apostles of Jesus Christ.—
Dan Mangan,
CNBC,
8 May 2025
-
The first pope was St. Peter, the apostle of Jesus Christ.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
28 Apr. 2025
Noun
-
Higgins, a candidate for mayor in the city of Miami, chairs the County Commission’s Transportation committee and has been the board’s main advocate of the Northeast project.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
1 July 2025
-
No serious advocate for diversity programs argues against hiring the best candidate for the job.—
Jim Edwards,
Fortune,
1 July 2025
Cite this Entry
“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 6 Jul. 2025.
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