as in rebel
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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
-
Lucas’s focus on getting paid brings him in for the book’s harshest criticism; Fischer casts him as a rebel turned sellout.—
Michael O’Donnell,
The Atlantic,
10 Feb. 2026
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On the other hand, Bennu is the rebel — its glycine likely originated in frozen ice exposed to harsh radiation in the outer reaches of the solar system.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
9 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Progressive senators are wading into Democratic primaries across the country, at times breaking from their leaders to back more left-leaning or insurgent candidates — with the notable exception of Texas.—
Burgess Everett,
semafor.com,
10 Feb. 2026
-
Those funds often backed far-right Republican insurgents.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
10 Feb. 2026
Noun
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That was Sokolowski’s introduction to a network of sadistic online extremists.—
Curt Devine,
CNN Money,
10 Feb. 2026
-
More than 150 Christians were abducted from three churches in another part of Kaduna in January before being released this week while at least 160 people, mostly Muslims, were killed by Islamic extremists in Kwara state for refusing to be indoctrinated.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
8 Feb. 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
-
With that mental reframing, the American (and then French and other) revolutionaries changed not just their own country, but the world.—
Andreas Kluth,
Mercury News,
10 Feb. 2026
-
In this topsy-turvy world, Erdoğan was the revolutionary, and the representatives of leftist institutions and unions were the rotten elites.—
Kaya Genç,
The Dial,
3 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The participants who did speed training and received the booster sessions were found to have a 25% reduction in the risk of a dementia diagnosis compared with the control group.—
Akshay Syal,
NBC news,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Adding fresh ginger can be an immune booster.—
Audrey Noble,
Vogue,
7 Feb. 2026
Noun
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One question has bothered Martin Ludlow in his decades as a concert and event promoter in Los Angeles.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Independent producers and promoters rent its venues for their performances and events.—
E. Andrew Taylor,
The Conversation,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
From 52 to 55 CE, the apostle Saint Paul spent three years here preaching the Gospel and is said to have brought Mary, the mother of Jesus, here to spend her final days.—
Maureen O'Hare,
CNN Money,
9 Feb. 2026
-
Royal blue, oxblood, and gold paint illuminated the creation of Adam and the temptation of Eve—the couple who give the place its name, the Crypt of the Original Sin—along with various apostles and archangels.—
Adam Erace,
Travel + Leisure,
6 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
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