Sunday Word: Provocateur
provocateur [pruh-vok-uh-tur, -toor]
noun:
a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator
Examples:
But this well-constructed film effectively highlights the key points of the Southern-born icon's singular, often troubled life and proves a vivid, enjoyable portrait of a one-of-a-kind provocateur. (Gary Goldstein, 'The Capote Tapes' chronicles the downfall of the celebrated author, Los Angeles Tribune, September 2021)
But the Confession Club only forms the framework of this tale, serving as provocateur, comic relief, affirming Greek chorus. (Justin Chang, 'The Confession Club,' by Elizabeth Berg, The Star Tribune, November 2019)
Deliciously weird, satirically funny and dreamlike - bad dreamlike - 'The Lobster' is the sort of visionary film that can only be created by a great provocateur. (Colin Covert, 'Lobster' is deliciously weird, The Providence Journal, June 2016)
Yes he's a provocateur if you like, but the underlying message is very rarely 'life's rubbish and you're all a bunch of sharks'. And I think that is a reflection of Martin's belief in the better side of people. (Deborah Bull, quoted in the documentary The Question Mark Inside broadcast by Sky Arts, 30 October 2009)
Origin:
'undercover agent who commits damning or illegal acts in the name of a group, or who encourages group members to commit them so as to damage its reputation or draw down punishment from authorities,' 1915 (Emma Goldman), shortened form of agent provocateur 'person hired to make trouble' (1845), from French provocateur, from Latin provocator 'challenger,' from provocare 'to call out' (Online Etymology Dictionary)
In 'provocateur,' a word borrowed directly from French, one sees the English verb 'provoke.' Both 'provoke' and 'provocateur' derive from Latin provocare, meaning 'to call forth.' Why do we say 'provocateur' for one who incites another to action, instead of simply 'provoker'? Perhaps it's because of agent provocateur, a term of French origin that literally means 'provoking agent.' Both 'agent provocateur' and the shortened 'provocateur' can refer to someone (such as an undercover police officer or a political operative) whose job is to incite people to break the law so that they can be arrested, but only 'provocateur' is used in English with the more general sense of 'one who provokes.' (Merriam-Webster)