as in agitators
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent
a calculating provocateur, she has made a career out of controversy for its own sake
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Recent Examples of provocateurs
Lost in all the heated rhetoric is the fact that so much of this turmoil would have been avoided if federal detainers were simply honored within local jails and state prisons — away from the public and professional provocateurs who are drawn to uncivil cultural conflict like bees to honey.
—
Bob Ehrlich, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2026
The pair of social media provocateurs post their bizarre arguments and interactions with everyday New Yorkers, which usually end with them being chased down the street and out of bodegas and residential buildings.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
There were right-wing provocateurs coming to town.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Third parties, which are usually based on fringe views or a sense of grievance, are vehicles for ideologues, provocateurs and contrarians whose appeal is as limited as their problem-solving skills.
—Newsweek Contributors, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Dynevor, meanwhile, finds texture in a villainous role that rightly reminds us how petty personal grievances (on campus, no less) may well be the driving force behind the most outspoken political provocateurs.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
Charlie Kirk was one of the right's preeminent provocateurs, often delving into contentious territory.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
So instead of making these obvious points to union provocateurs such as Davis Gates, our political leaders treat her with kid gloves.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025
Bob Ehrlich, Baltimore Sun, 10 Mar. 2026
The pair of social media provocateurs post their bizarre arguments and interactions with everyday New Yorkers, which usually end with them being chased down the street and out of bodegas and residential buildings.
—Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 27 Feb. 2026
There were right-wing provocateurs coming to town.
—Anne Applebaum, The Atlantic, 6 Feb. 2026
Third parties, which are usually based on fringe views or a sense of grievance, are vehicles for ideologues, provocateurs and contrarians whose appeal is as limited as their problem-solving skills.
—Newsweek Contributors, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 Nov. 2025
Dynevor, meanwhile, finds texture in a villainous role that rightly reminds us how petty personal grievances (on campus, no less) may well be the driving force behind the most outspoken political provocateurs.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 29 Oct. 2025
Charlie Kirk was one of the right's preeminent provocateurs, often delving into contentious territory.
—Zac Anderson, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
So instead of making these obvious points to union provocateurs such as Davis Gates, our political leaders treat her with kid gloves.
—The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 24 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provocateurs
Noun
-
Columbia students, along with outside agitators, broke into an academic building and temporarily detained the janitors inside.—
Rose Horowitch,
The Atlantic,
25 Mar. 2026
-
Christian women wishing to reunite their families without calling for Hitler’s demise, or the release of all Jews, were harder for the regime to portray as political enemies or criminal agitators.—
Danielle Wirsansky,
The Conversation,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
It was reserved only for slaves, criminals and political rebels.—
John Blake,
CNN Money,
5 Apr. 2026
-
Following the events of A Palace Near the Wind, Liu Lufeng and her siblings flee the Palace for the dangerous waters, which contain rebels, allies, and her sister Sangshu—though Sangshu’s conflicting loyalties may clash with Lufeng’s plan to keep them all safe.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
To Alfredo De Avila, of the Oakland Center for Third World Organizing, the UFW’s claims that Communist insurgents are plotting against Chavez and his union highlight how far the UFW has fallen.—
Marcos Breton,
Sacbee.com,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Bakri is more brittle in Farah Nabulsi’s The Teacher as Basem, a Palestinian teacher in the West Bank whose support for insurgents grows after his own son dies in prison and as Israeli settlers brutalize his neighborhood.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Woodstock gave its name to a generation, but the concert itself was a debacle that nearly bankrupted its promoters.—
Encyclopedia Britannica,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Neither the artist’s team nor local promoters have issued an official statement regarding the cancellation or the rescheduling of the Milan concert, or possible adjustments to the immediate tour schedule.—
Franchesca Guim,
Billboard,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
After the Justice Department memo, however, the president suggested there was nothing more to say about Epstein and the country, including his own supporters, should simply move on.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The official campaign had focussed its resources on Iowa and New Hampshire, which left a late-primary state like New York with few channels for supporters’ enthusiasm.—
Molly Fischer,
New Yorker,
2 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Certainly Arendt, who lived through arguably darker times, did not see them as merely a product of the era’s monstrous demagogues.—
Christine Smallwood,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Mar. 2026
-
Following the outbreak of COVID-19, bias incidents and assaults against Asian Americans soared to alarming heights as demagogues on the streets and in high office inflamed xenophobic fear and animosity.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Known in research circles as authoritarian parenting, this style certainly has its proponents.—
Kelley King Heyworth,
Parents,
5 Apr. 2026
-
But for Project Plowshare’s biggest proponents, atomic excavation remained a worthwhile goal.—
The Conversation,
Fortune,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
All of that would be intriguing even if the founders of Deep Voodoo weren’t South Park instigators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.—
Steven Zeitchik,
HollywoodReporter,
31 Mar. 2026
-
In 2001, the United States and its allies stormed into Afghanistan, aiming to destroy the Taliban and round up the instigators of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.—
Nolan Finley,
Twin Cities,
6 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Provocateurs.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provocateurs. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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