agent provocateur

English · Français · Deutsch

AI In plain words

Writing a short explanation…

Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.

agent provocateur

/ˌɑʒɑnt pɹəˌvɔkəˈtɝ/ US
/-ˈtʊəɹ/ US
/ˌɑʒɑ̃-/ US
/ˌæʒɒ̃ pɹəˌvɒkəˈtɜː/ UK
/ˌeɪd͡ʒənt-/ UK

Where it comes from

Borrowed from French agent provocateur (literally “provocative agent”).

noun agents provocateurs

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. "This agent-provocateur business is quite foreign to British justice."

Translations

Every language

noun a person who disrupts a group's activities from within

Español	agente provocador
日本語	プロバカートル
中文	反間臥底 /反间卧底 fǎnjiàn wòdǐ
Português	agente provocador
Français	agent provocateur
Deutsch	Agent Provocateur, Lockspitzel, Provokateur
Italiano	agent provocatore, agente provocatrice
Română	agent provocator
Русский	провокатор provokator
العربية	مُبَلِّغ مُشَارِك muballiḡ mušārik
עברית	פרובוקטור provokatór

Talk about this word

Cite this

MLA

"agent provocateur." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/agent%20provocateur. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

agent provocateur. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/agent%20provocateur

Chicago

"agent provocateur." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/agent%20provocateur.

BibTeX

@misc{agent_provocateur_2026,
  title = {agent provocateur},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/agent%20provocateur},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}