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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
Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 5 Mar. 2025
With Ai, Rebel: The Art and Activism of Ai Weiwei, Seattle Art Museum presents the provocateur’s largest-ever U.S. exhibition, gathering more than 130 works created over his 40-year career.
—Ellen Carpenter, AFAR Media, 5 Mar. 2025
The 55-year-old provocateur invited the 40-year-old politician to sit down with him for an interview Wednesday night.
—Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 25 Feb. 2025
Kash Patel, conspiracy theorist, January 6 denier, MAGA sycophant and political provocateur, will be FBI director.
—Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/provocateur. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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