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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of provocateurs
Just a funny parasocial back-and-forth between some of the most passionate fans in sports and one of the best provocateurs the SEC has seen since Steve Spurrier.
—
Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026
Alliances with independents and provocateurs can bring younger crowds to the traditional news fold in an era when such viewership is not guaranteed.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
For 15 years as a member of French psych pop provocateurs La Femme, Magnée and band members were walking billboards for retro chic fashion.
—Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 14 Apr. 2026
The character of McCrum’s images is also quite different than that of the ones in the fictional Brainrot, whose sleek, sensual images recall the highly polished work of provocateurs like Torbjørn Rødland and Heji Shin.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 13 Apr. 2026
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
Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 1 May 2026
Alliances with independents and provocateurs can bring younger crowds to the traditional news fold in an era when such viewership is not guaranteed.
—Brian Steinberg, Variety, 20 Apr. 2026
For 15 years as a member of French psych pop provocateurs La Femme, Magnée and band members were walking billboards for retro chic fashion.
—Selena Fragassi, SPIN, 14 Apr. 2026
The character of McCrum’s images is also quite different than that of the ones in the fictional Brainrot, whose sleek, sensual images recall the highly polished work of provocateurs like Torbjørn Rødland and Heji Shin.
—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 13 Apr. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provocateurs
Noun
-
Instead of removing the anti-free speech agitators, UNLV police escorted Peer off campus.—
Editorial,
Boston Herald,
9 May 2026
-
Instead of removing the anti-free speech agitators, UNLV police escorted Peer off campus.—
Las Vegas Review-Journal,
Twin Cities,
7 May 2026
Noun
-
The rebels’ final push to victory would take them right past the front door of Cardenas’ three-quarter-acre hacienda.—
Ed Guzman,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
-
Paris intervened in Mali in 2013 when a jihadist insurgency threatened to spin out of control, and led a largely Western force in fighting jihadist rebels.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Many advanced states understand the need for some kind of violent reaction to terrorists or insurgents, usually as a task for special-operations forces.—
Eliot A. Cohen,
The Atlantic,
11 May 2026
-
Both political insurgents were elected under extraordinary circumstances.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2026
Noun
-
Mitchell said there are plenty of less visible local efforts to boost Memphis artists, such as promoters working to get them on tours with national headliners.—
Chris Kenning,
USA Today,
15 May 2026
-
Trump account promoters have massively overstated the potential wealth gains for ordinary Americans.—
Business Columnist,
Los Angeles Times,
12 May 2026
Noun
-
While the emotional weight of a mother defending her child is undeniable, supporters of Save Girls’ Sports argue compassion for one athlete should not come at the expense of opportunities for other young women.—
Alejandro Avila OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
In recent months, McCann and a team of supporters, including many public school teachers, have knocked on hundreds of doors, arguing that McCann is the candidate who most supports public education, including the state’s flagship public university, which is located in her district.—
Sarah Cutler,
Idaho Statesman,
14 May 2026
Noun
-
Assayas portrays the Russian populace as merely manipulated, as if voters were blank slates for effective propaganda rather than people with moral compasses, capacities for judgment and humanity, ideas and opinions that demagogues recognize and stoke.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
13 May 2026
-
But demeaning our brand through association with vulgar demagogues is a losing strategy.—
Alma Hernandez,
New York Daily News,
1 May 2026
Noun
-
Its proponents believe nuclear power could address a wide range of problems.—
Krisztian Elcsics,
Hartford Courant,
12 May 2026
-
The entrenchment of those supply chains may have been underestimated by proponents of nearshoring and onshoring, while the impacts of higher tariffs may have been overestimated.—
Kate Nishimura,
Footwear News,
7 May 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 19 May. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
