as in rebel
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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
-
As the decade wore on, though, my parents grew up—as happens to young rebels—and my mother, unexpectedly, started thinking about having kids.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
-
Their work and mental health were further disrupted when Houthi rebels in Yemen began attacking ships in the Red Sea, with at least nine sailors killed and 11 others held captive for five months.—
Mithil Aggarwal,
NBC news,
27 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The act as insurgent against privilege, set to die in the rot of reason.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Mills’s primary opponent, oyster farmer and progressive insurgent Graham Platner, echoed other outsiders last year in calling for Schumer to lose his leadership post over his government shutdown dealings with Republicans.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Yet Ali’s act does not only evoke terrorist incidents such as the Charlie Hebdo attack, perpetrated by Muslim extremists, just a few months prior to The Red Chador.—
H.M.A. Leow,
JSTOR Daily,
31 Mar. 2026
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The Italian metal extremist has been going down a rabbit hole of his own with a series of highly technical I, Voidhanger releases marked by extraterrestrial synth work and winding, stop-on-a-dime riffs.—
Sam Goldner,
Pitchfork,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The book looked at the world of Bad Bridgets, a swath of Irish women emigrants that were deemed troublemakers, noting that for a time Irish women outnumbered Irish men in prison.—
Borys Kit,
HollywoodReporter,
26 Mar. 2026
-
When troublemaker Arlene moves in across the street to live with her father, Maria falls helplessly under her corrupting influence.—
Theater Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The game happened to be on November 18th, the anniversary of Haitian revolutionaries defeating the French Army in 1803 before declaring independence.—
Albert Samaha,
New Yorker,
31 Mar. 2026
-
Fidel Castro, either wanting to protect his family’s privacy or maintain the mystique of a revolutionary who only had time for his country, never publicly disclosed the family.—
Patrick Oppmann,
CNN Money,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Its current head, Mike Selig, is a thirty-six-year-old lawyer and crypto booster.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
30 Mar. 2026
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The city’s leaders and economic boosters, for their part, have hammered home the idea that the Oakland airport boasts a faster entry-and-exit experience than San Francisco, and that its parking lot is a short walk across the street from the front entrance.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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As live performances became a more important source of revenue for artists and promoters, these factors contributed to a sustained rise in ticket costs, widening the gap between general consumer prices and the cost of attending major concerts.—
byDoug Ashburn,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
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And so, Mitski’s team left it to concert promoter Goldenvoice to coordinate, getting in touch with Hollywood High School principal Samual Dovlatian.—
Ethan Millman,
HollywoodReporter,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Anglo‑Saxon England converted to Christianity over the seventh century, so some of the charms included appeals to Jesus, Mary, and the apostles.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Mar. 2026
-
The New Testament canon usually includes 27 books, including the four gospels that describe Jesus’ life – Matthew, Mark, Luke and John – and Acts, which describes the works of the apostles who continued Jesus’ ministry after his death.—
Christy Cobb,
The Conversation,
26 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 3 Apr. 2026.
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