provocateur

English

Etymology

Borrowed from French provocateur. Doublet of provocator.

Noun

provocateur (plural provocateurs)

1. One who engages in provocative behavior.
   • 2007 February 28, Daniel J. Wakin, “City Opera Lures Director From Paris”, in The New York Times‎^[1]:

     Gerard Mortier, an iconoclastic impresario and one of the opera world’s premier provocateurs, will become general manager and artistic director of the New York City Opera in 2009.

   • 2007 May 19, Charlotte Higgins, “US government trying to seize new Michael Moore film, says producer”, in The Guardian‎^[2]:

     Cannes is smacking its lips in anticipation of filmmaker and provocateur Michael Moore's latest jeremiad against the US administration, which receives its premiere at the film festival today.

2. An undercover agent who incites suspected persons to partake in or commit criminal acts.

Hyponyms

• provocateuse (female)

Translations

one who engages in provocative behavior

• Belarusian: правака́тар m (pravakátar)
• Bulgarian: провока́тор (bg) m (provokátor)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 挑釁者 / 挑衅者 (tiǎoxìnzhě)

• Czech: provokatér (cs) m
• Dutch: provocateur (nl) m
• Esperanto: provokisto
• Estonian: provokaator
• Finnish: provokaattori (fi)
• French: provocateur (fr) m, provocatrice (fr) f
• German: Provokateur (de) m, Provokateurin (de) f
• Greek: προβοκάτορας (el) m (provokátoras)
• Hungarian: provokátor (hu)
• Indonesian: provokator (id)
• Persian: پرووکاتور (provokâtor)
• Polish: prowokator (pl) m, awanturnik (pl) m, awanturnica (pl) f
• Russian: провока́тор (ru) m (provokátor)
• Spanish: provocador (es)
• Swedish: provokatör (sv) c
• Turkish: provokatör (tr)
• Ukrainian: провока́тор (uk) m (provokátor)

undercover agent who incites suspected persons to partake in or commit criminal acts

• Dutch: agent-provocateur (nl) m
• Portuguese: agente provocador
• Spanish: agente provocador

French

Etymology

Borrowed from Latin provocātōrem. See provoquer, -ateur.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /pʁɔ.vɔ.ka.tœʁ/

Adjective

provocateur (feminine provocatrice, masculine plural provocateurs, feminine plural provocatrices)

1. provocative, inflammatory

   Synonym: provocant

Derived terms

• agent provocateur
• agente provocatrice

 

Noun

provocateur m (plural provocateurs, feminine provocatrice)

1. provocateur, provoker; one who provokes

Related terms

• provoquer

Descendants

• → Persian: پرووکاتور (porovokâtor)

Further reading

• “provocateur”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.