provocateur

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/prəˌvɒkəˈtɜːr/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(prə vok′ə tûr′, -tŏŏr′; Fr. prô vô ka tœr′)


Inflections of 'provocateur' (n): npl: provocateurs

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
pro•vo•ca•teur  (prə vok′ə tûr′, -tŏŏr′; Fr. prô vô ka tœr′),USA pronunciation n., pl. -teurs 
    (-tûrz′, -tŏŏrz′; Fr. -tœr′).USA pronunciation 
  1. Foreign Termsa person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like;
    agitator.
  2. Foreign Terms(italics) [French.]See agent provocateur. 
  • Latin prōvocātor challenger, appellant, equivalent. to provocā(re) to provoke + -tor -tor
  • French
  • 1915–20

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
provocateur / prəˌvɒkəˈtɜː/, provocator / ˈprɒvəˌkeɪtə/, provoker / prəˈvəʊkə/
  1. a person who deliberately behaves controversially in order to provoke argument or other strong reactions
'provocateur' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Eur- - agent provocateur - provo

Forum discussions with the word(s) "provocateur" in the title:


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