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 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.

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 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

Further reading

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