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In "provocateur," a word borrowed directly from French, one sees the English verb "provoke." Both "provoke" and "provocateur" derive from Latin provocare, meaning "to call forth." Why do we say "provocateur" for one who incites another to action, instead of simply "provoker"? Perhaps it's because of "agent provocateur," a term of French origin that literally means "provoking agent." Both "agent provocateur" and the shortened "provocateur" can refer to someone (such as an undercover police officer or a political operative) whose job is to incite people to break the law so that they can be arrested, but only "provocateur" is used in English with the more general sense of "one who provokes."
Examples of provocateur in a Sentence
Vanessa Gera, Los Angeles Times, 19 May 2025
Years from now, looking back on this AI boom, OpenAI could turn out to be less important for its technology than for playing the role of provocateur.
—Alex Reisner, The Atlantic, 13 May 2025
Dodge was the brainchild of two upstart brothers from Michigan who sought to push cars—and their car company—to the limit; Cybertruck is the vision of a modern provocateur whose history is still being written.
—Scotty Reiss, Forbes, 28 Feb. 2025
A couple of weeks ago, the provocateur Laura Loomer got the White House to force the firing of some of his aides, which was a little like taking personnel advice from Lyndon LaRouche.
—The Editors, National Review, 2 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for provocateur
Cite this Entry
“Provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/provocateur. Accessed 3 Jun. 2025.
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