agent provocateur

Example Sentences

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Recent Examples of agent provocateur 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 Jester, troubadour, agent provocateur, Serge Gainsbourg rhymed his way through life in a fog of Gitanes smoke, making music of every genre. Roger Cohen, New York Times, 25 Sep. 2023 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 It is now known who that agent provocateur was that the FBI used and John Brennan used and James Clapper. Fox News, 17 May 2018
Recent Examples of Synonyms for agent provocateur
Noun
  • Also starring Jamie Lee Curtis, the original 2003 flick found Lohan’s character — a teenage rebel who fronts a rock band called Pink Slip — magically switching bodies with her mother.
    Hannah Dailey, Billboard, 28 May 2025
  • Bo was a rebel on a motorcycle who soon fell for the rich and spirited Hope.
    Victoria Edel, People.com, 26 May 2025
Noun
  • Authorities have also reported sightings of ELN guerrillas, a Colombian-Venezuelan insurgent faction, operating near key Guyanese border towns.
    Antonio Maria Delgado, Miami Herald, 6 June 2025
  • Spain approved the deal on Oct. 3, 2023, four days before an insurgent assault led by Hamas on southern Israel that sparked a devastating war in Gaza.
    Brittany Williams, Arkansas Online, 4 June 2025
Noun
  • Running battles between troublemakers and members of the CRS, France’s notorious riot police, continued throughout the night.
    Tom Williams, New York Times, 2 June 2025
  • Honestly, these lovable troublemakers could have starred in their own version of Homeward Bound.
    EW Staff, EW.com, 27 May 2025
Noun
  • But because of World War I and the sabotage by Arab revolutionaries and T.E. Lawrence, only the segment from Damascus to Medina was completed.
    Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 6 June 2025
  • That’s right, Lin-Manuel Miranda and his ensemble of revolutionaries will reunite for a special performance at the 78th Tony Awards in honor of the show’s 10th anniversary.
    Brent Lang, Variety, 29 May 2025
Noun
  • That’s important because cityhood boosters will have to convince voters both inside and outside La Jolla.
    Michael Smolens, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 2025
  • The stack of 27 Starlink satellites began their journey into low Earth orbit (LEO) aboard a Falcon 9 first-stage booster designated B1063.
    Josh Dinner, Space.com, 5 June 2025
Noun
  • Fever’s music partners include standout names such as Primavera Sound, Fabrik, Last Tour, Cercle and TCE Presents, while Dice is trusted by such venues, festivals, and promoters as Club Space, Newport Jazz and Folk Festival, Sonar, London’s Alexandra Palace and Rough Trade globally.
    Thania Garcia, Variety, 5 June 2025
  • Local promoters Flip Phone Events began offering drag brunches in 2015 and have since expanded into 19 other states and Washington, D.C.
    Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 3 June 2025
Noun
  • Under current Catholic doctrine, only men may become priests, based on the belief that Jesus chose male apostles.
    Barney Henderson, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025
  • Paprocki said he was struck by Pope Francis’ joy and reflected that the pontiff spoke to Paprocki and the other bishops with him not as a boss, but as a fellow apostle tasked with the same mission all priests have — to passionately advance their faith.
    The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 21 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • Many prominent advocates for excluding transgender girls from sports praised Dhillon’s actions last week as a bold move to protect cisgender girls from unfair competition.
    Kevin Rector, Los Angeles Times, 9 June 2025
  • Many advocates for homeless people argue that the encroachment law and camping ban end up criminalizing poverty, especially because the region’s shelter system has nowhere near enough space for everybody asking for beds.
    Blake Nelson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 June 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 13 Jun. 2025.

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