: one employed to associate with suspected persons and by pretending sympathy with their aims to incite them to some incriminating action
Example Sentences
The government used agents provocateurs to try to undermine the opposition party.
Recent Examples on the WebThe last dispatch from the alien/agent provocateur known as Greg Tate beamed out from perhaps his most inconspicuous dwelling. Tirhakah Love, Vulture, 14 Dec. 2021 At the same time, agents provocateurs played a significant role in the turbulence. Adam Hochschild, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2019 It is now known who that agent provocateur was that the FBI used and John Brennan used and James Clapper.Fox News, 17 May 2018 More in Moving Targets A more sinister possibility is that UFOs are loaded with agents provocateurs sent here to sow the seeds of discord in our society. Joe Queenan, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2017
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from French, literally, "provoking agent"