provocatrice

plural provocatrices

1. rareA female provocateur.

   The Sceptic will be no provocateur or provocatrice; if we imagine a female Sceptic, she will have no doctrinal reason for doing anything to provoke her neighbours or the authorities.

   2014, Melissa Lane, “Cosmopolitanism”, in The Birth of Politics: Eight Greek and Roman Political Ideas and Why They Matter, Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, published 2016, →ISBN, page 237

   2 more examples

   In these last ten days in the settle-bed, he had reached one other definite though qualified conclusion: if the legend was true, he had lost Merrily completely, and for one simple reason. The reason was this: she was the one woman he could truly love. She was a provocatrice, yes. An accomplished flirt, yes. No better than she should be, by the gossip, yes. But he loved her.

   1938, Neil H[armon] Swanson, “In Which Black Roger Solves a Puzzle, and Merrily Gorth Becomes a Forbidden Woman”, in The Forbidden Ground, New York, N.Y.; Toronto, Ont.: Farrar & Rinehart, →OCLC, page 88

   After she died, I knew what she would say all the time. Now, I must think even to remember. She would say . . . well, she was a provocatrice. She would throw down the gauntlet in anything she said.

   2016, Bev Jafek, “The Beginning: The Sacred Beasts”, in The Sacred Beasts, Fairfield, Calif.: Bink Books, →ISBN, page 89

   Synonyms: provocateuse, provocatrix