as in rebel
a person who stirs up public feelings especially of discontent
a calculating provocateur, she has made a career out of controversy for its own sake
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Recent Examples of provocateur
Ultimately, Weems views her role as both artist and provocateur.
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Okla Jones, Essence, 30 Oct. 2024
Trump has also associated with people who spread conspiracy theories, including right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who traveled with him to the presidential debate and several 9/11 memorial events.
—Jill Colvin, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024
But the idea of handling such a gleeful provocateur with kid gloves seems to somehow miss the point of De Palma’s work.
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2024
Instead, Haitian residents and advocates were confronted by a small group of frustrated Springfield residents and at least one right-wing provocateur Saturday evening outside the local Haitian Community Help & Support Center.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, 15 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for provocateur 
Okla Jones, Essence, 30 Oct. 2024
Trump has also associated with people who spread conspiracy theories, including right-wing provocateur Laura Loomer, who traveled with him to the presidential debate and several 9/11 memorial events.
—Jill Colvin, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2024
But the idea of handling such a gleeful provocateur with kid gloves seems to somehow miss the point of De Palma’s work.
—Chris Vognar, Los Angeles Times, 3 Sep. 2024
Instead, Haitian residents and advocates were confronted by a small group of frustrated Springfield residents and at least one right-wing provocateur Saturday evening outside the local Haitian Community Help & Support Center.
—Corky Siemaszko, NBC News, 15 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for provocateur
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provocateur
Noun
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Wednesday’s surprise attack marks the first significant conflagration between Syrian rebels and the regime since March 2020, when Russia and Turkey mediated a ceasefire agreement in the country.Eyad Kourdi, CNN, 27 Nov. 2024
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In winter 1986, amid a 10-year-long conflict between Soviet forces and mujahedeen rebels, a bomb destroyed his family’s home in the suburbs of Kabul, Afghanistan.Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman, 24 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Lady Gaga, Travis Scott, Green Day and Post Malone will headline the 2025 Coachella festival, promoters confirmed Wednesday in a complete lineup reveal.Thania Garcia, Variety, 20 Nov. 2024
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The five-v-five concept in boxing between the top promoters in the world is fun.Brian Mazique, Forbes, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Spanish media reported earlier in the week anti-Israel agitators would protest outside the stadium where the match was being played, targeting the club and its fans.Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 8 Nov. 2024
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This year, agitators circulated maps with the locations of migrant housing, which have become targets.Steven Lee Myers, New York Times, 10 Aug. 2024
Noun
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Travis County Judge Andy Brown, a Prop A proponent, said the county envisions an initial focus on hiring and training staff at existing childcare facilities.Bianca Moreno-Paz, Austin American-Statesman, 21 Nov. 2024
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Republican proponents of the measure wanted to prevent noncitizens from voting in local elections, like for mayor and school board, in the future.Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 20 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Crockett is going into her second term and has become known as an MSNBC mainstay and fierce partisan brawler with GOP firebrands.Andrew Solender, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024
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This time, Cruz appealed to his party to take his race seriously and reshaped his image to Texas voters, presenting himself as a pragmatic legislator focused on getting things done—an effort to pivot from his past reputation as an uncompromising firebrand with aspirations beyond Texas.Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2024
Noun
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Householder was an early Trump supporter in the Buckeye State and spoke at Trump's Republican National Convention in Cleveland in 2016.Jessie Balmert, The Enquirer, 22 Nov. 2024
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Despite the long odds, nonprofit leaders and advocates have pushed aggressively in recent days to urge supporters to call their representatives and urge them to oppose the legislation.David Bowermaster, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
Noun
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As a result, the very outcome the founders most feared, namely election of a demagogue by a gullible cult of true-believers, has been made possible because of the Electoral College, which was originally designed to avoid precisely that outcome.Joseph J. Ellis, The Mercury News, 31 Oct. 2024
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Yale historian Timothy Snyder’s new book On Freedom explains how institutions of government can protect human rights while his 2017 book On Tyranny explains how demagogues succeed in eroding those pillars of society to be replaced by a tyrant.Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, TIME, 8 Oct. 2024
Noun
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Boko Haram is a Nigerian insurgent group that started fighting in 2009 to oppose Western education and impose their radical version of Islamic law.Matt Robison, Newsweek, 20 Nov. 2024
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Republicans didn't plan on spending millions of dollars to defend Senator Deb Fischer, but Osborne's insurgent campaign has taken off.ABC News, ABC News, 27 Oct. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near provocateur
Cite this Entry
“Provocateur.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provocateur. Accessed 3 Dec. 2024.
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