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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
-
When John commands Cal to cut his long hair, Cal rebels by dyeing it platinum and trimming it into a chin-length bob.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Marcos briefly suspended habeas corpus and blamed his sclerotic economy on the agitations of leftist rebels, students, journalists, and preachers.—
Sean Williams,
Harpers Magazine,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Israel — home to more Holocaust survivors than any other country — marks its remembrance day, Yom HaShoah, on the anniversary of the April 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, emphasizing the heroism of the Jewish insurgents who resisted the Nazi terror.—
Vanessa Gera,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Jan. 2026
-
According to two senior government officials, the Canadian armed forces were drafting insurgent-like tactics mirroring those used by the Taliban to fight back against the US invasion of Afghanistan.—
Joe Wilkins Published Jan 21,
Futurism,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Voters in primary elections may nominate extremists to run in the general election, leaving independents no choice but to vote for the lesser of two evils or to abstain from voting for either.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
-
My fellow Republicans have been holding firm in labeling Renee Good a domestic extremist, asserting that her actions constituted a violent threat motivated by ideological aims.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Iris Apatow and Costa D'Angelo are the latest troublemakers to stir the pot at Baird.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
14 Jan. 2026
-
His older brother, Leonard Kibrick, had played the main troublemaker in the series, giving Spanky (George McFarland), Alfalfa (Carl Switzer), Buckwheat (Billie Thomas) and Darla (Darla Hood) a hard time, before Bond replaced him in 1936.—
Mike Barnes,
HollywoodReporter,
6 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Rahman is positioning himself as a bridge between a political aristocracy that dates back to Bangladesh’s liberation struggle and the aspirations of its young revolutionaries.—
Charlie Campbell,
Time,
28 Jan. 2026
-
But that's not all − quarters honoring national heroes from the abolitionist, suffragette and civil rights eras have been scrapped and will be replaced by those celebrating the nation's early White pioneers and revolutionaries.—
Kathryn Palmer,
USA Today,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
An issue with a solid rocket booster motor detaching during launch on the second flight, though, delayed that certification until March 2025.—
Richard Tribou,
The Orlando Sentinel,
26 Jan. 2026
-
To facilitate the transport, Citizens is building four new booster stations, which keep the water moving, and about 52 miles of transmission mains.—
Sophie Hartley,
IndyStar,
26 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The friend who went to the nightclub with Rodriguez, and was at the apartment while she was raped, confronted the promoter who first invited them to the club the next day, according to the lawsuit.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The tour will be a nostalgia rush filled with era-defining hits, as the tour’s promoter Live Nation describes it.—
Rashad Alexander,
Kansas City Star,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Now in full force, filling the choral terrace, the Dallas Symphony Chorus sang stirringly, although, as Walton intended, a smaller contingent of the singers evoked the praise of prophets, apostles and martyrs.—
Scott Cantrell,
Dallas Morning News,
23 Jan. 2026
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The story begins when the apostle Paul, who spread Jesus’ gospel more than any other follower in early Christianity, visits the city of Iconium, in modern-day Turkey.—
Christy Cobb,
The Conversation,
16 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 2 Feb. 2026.
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