as in rebel
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Recent Examples of agent provocateur
The Italian Marco Materazzi was an agent provocateur, tossing out words about Zidane’s family like a grenade set to spew forth a red mist.
—
Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 31 May 2026
And for good reason; Villanueva spent his four years in office more as an agent provocateur than a public safety official.
—The Editorial Board, Daily News, 13 May 2026
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
Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 31 May 2026
And for good reason; Villanueva spent his four years in office more as an agent provocateur than a public safety official.
—The Editorial Board, Daily News, 13 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agent provocateur
Noun
-
At least 30 people were killed, including patients, after an airstrike by Myanmar’s ruling junta hit a major hospital in the western state of Rakhine, a rebel group, an aid worker and a witness said Thursday.—
Reuters,
NBC news,
11 Dec. 2025
-
Behrouz Vossoughi, a new-wave actor loved by anti-shah rebels, was her co-star in many films and eventually her second husband.—
Arash Azizi,
The Atlantic,
10 Dec. 2025
Noun
-
In 2022, French forces departed Mali as insurgents made incursions into the capital, Bamako.—
Kaitlyn Rabe,
The Conversation,
16 June 2026
-
The press aims to champion writing that is urgent and insurgent.—
Brittany Allen,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
More recently, the Department of Justice charged the Southern Poverty Law Center — a civil rights nonprofit accused by Republicans of targeting conservatives in its work tracking extremists — with defrauding donors through payments to informants.—
James Pollard,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
-
While Israel has faced recent criticism over treatment of Christians – mostly at the hands of a few extremists – the country is seen as a beacon of freedom of religion in the Middle East.—
Amelie Botbol,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
Meanwhile, younger brother Sam begins to suspect that Michael's new friends are not merely troublemakers, but vampires.—
Dave Quinn,
PEOPLE,
27 Apr. 2026
-
Retaliation can include being assigned to a station far from home, passed up for promotions or labeled a troublemaker.—
Alene Tchekmedyian,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Kings, poets, scientists and revolutionaries wanted to meet him and sought his advice.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
11 June 2026
-
Al Pacino plays a CIA operative orchestrating a covert plan to eliminate the Cuban revolutionary.—
Andreas Wiseman,
Deadline,
9 June 2026
Noun
-
Still, the findings indicate that the vaccines continue to offer cardiovascular protection against COVID-19, which should factor into people’s decisions on whether to get an annual COVID-19 booster.—
Beth Mole,
ArsTechnica,
15 June 2026
-
The South hasn’t had such an enthusiastic booster as Freddy since novelist Pat Conroy died.—
Culture Critic,
Los Angeles Times,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
Gather Honest Outside Feedback Have a third party contact your customers at key intervals and capture their net promoter score.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
11 June 2026
-
Another critic of the bill is promoter Oscar De La Hoya, who argues that this new framework undermines the core of the original 2000 Ali Act, and could result in near-monopolies on the sport.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
11 June 2026
Noun
-
The 18 towers represent different figures from scripture including the apostles, evangelists and Virgin Mary while the three facades depict the life of Jesus along with his death and final judgment.—
Christopher Lamb,
CNN Money,
10 June 2026
-
This idea was the work of the apostles and prophets of the New Apostolic Reformation, a charismatic movement that began gathering momentum in the 1990s and is now the leading edge of the Christian right.—
Stephanie McCrummen,
The Atlantic,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Agent provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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