agent provocateur

Example Sentences

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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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agent provocateur
Noun
  • But in a region being fought over by a patchwork of anti-junta rebel groups, the military and pro-military militia – and given the widespread distrust of the Rohingya – information on where exactly his family are, or what will become of them, has not been forthcoming.
    Esha Mitra, CNN Money, 14 Sep. 2025
  • By the finale, the galactic chessboard is crowded with players—emperors, rebels, prophets, impostors—but as Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned in the very first episode, the center cannot hold.
    JP Mangalindan, Time, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • This new generation of outlets has also begun to shape the political conversation on the left, helping boost insurgent challengers to the Democratic establishment.
    Max Tani, semafor.com, 15 Sep. 2025
  • Perfect for pondering what’s more human than human or planning insurgent actions against a cruel imperial apparatus.
    Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Burns said Huntington Beach is not the only city where vigils and community gatherings have been co-opted by extremists.
    Claire Wang, Oc Register, 16 Sep. 2025
  • Still, a recent study by the libertarian Cato Institute found more politically motivated killings in the United States come from right-leaning extremists.
    Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 16 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • That shouldn’t be a problem, as Taylor would never be mistaken for a troublemaker.
    Christian Zilko, IndieWire, 12 Sep. 2025
  • Across China, tens of thousands of people tagged as troublemakers like the Yangs are trapped in a digital cage, barred from leaving their province and sometimes even their homes by the world’s largest digital surveillance apparatus.
    Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 9 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • The Frida — named for Frida Kahlo, the Mexican painter and revolutionary known for her surreal and deeply personal artworks — relies on community support from memberships, donations, and volunteers.
    Amy Bentley, Oc Register, 19 Sep. 2025
  • The Romanticism that fueled Wordsworth’s poetic project fueled many of the revolutionaries too.
    Paul Kingsnorth, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • Fill a tub with a gallon of hot water and a capful of oxygen bleach laundry booster (or the amount that is recommended on the label).
    Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 14 Sep. 2025
  • Russian President Vladimir Putin urged aerospace industry leaders on September 5 to press on with efforts to develop booster rocket engines for space launch vehicles and build on Russia's longstanding reputation as a leader in space technology, Reuters reports.
    Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 12 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • By turning a blind eye to scalpers, even giving them the tools to bypass limits and harvest tickets, Live Nation has acted as the promoter, the primary ticket seller, the artists’ manager, and the scalper.
    Walden Green, Pitchfork, 19 Sep. 2025
  • For starters, radio promoters and DJs did start playing female artists back to back, and Erykah Badu, Queen Latifah, and Jill Scott went on to found the R&B and hip-hop touring festival Sugar Water, which ran from 2005 to 2006.
    Rachel Brodsky, Rolling Stone, 19 Sep. 2025
Noun
  • For Byrne, an apostle of euphoria, all this giddiness seems fitting.
    Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The 9th-century monastery rises from the plateau—its stone walls etched with faded medieval frescoes of apostles and Last Judgement scenes.
    Lewis Nunn, Forbes.com, 24 Aug. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 21 Sep. 2025.

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