agents provocateurs

A form of agent provocateur — A person who secretly disrupts a group's activities from within the group, particularly by encouraging or committing illegal acts to discredit the group or expose them to prosecution; an instigator, troublemaker.

OriginFrench agents provocateurs →
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Meanings

noun
  1. pluralplural of agent provocateur

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
titushky

Origin

  1. Frenchagents provocateurs
  2. Englishagents provocateurs

Borrowed from French agents provocateurs, using French plural rules.

More words from French

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

agents provocateurs. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agents%20provocateurs

MLA

“agents provocateurs.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agents%20provocateurs. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “agents provocateurs,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/agents%20provocateurs.

Source: agents provocateurs on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.