provocateur
Professional trouble stirrer
A provocateur is someone who deliberately provokes others—stirring up trouble, inciting conflict, or provoking reactions.
The word often appears in agent provocateur, meaning someone who infiltrates a group to encourage illegal acts that justify crackdowns.
More loosely, provocateur describes anyone who courts controversy or pushes boundaries to get a reaction: He styled himself as a cultural provocateur, delighting in offending mainstream sensibilities.
One who stirs dissent
- firebrandAgitator or burning stick
- troublemakerOne who creates discord
- instigatorOne who provokes action
- inciterOne who provokes action
fomenter · agitprop · pot-stirrer · antagonist · seditionist · demagogue · inflammatory · polemicist
Vigorous cause champion
- dissidentOpposer of established systems
- revolutionarySeeking fundamental systemic change
- radicalRoot-indicating symbol
- anarchistOne opposing all governance
subversive · insurgent · rebel · militant · protester · saboteur · renegade · guerrilla
Attacker of cherished beliefs
- contrarianChronic majority-opposer
- hereticChallenger of official doctrine
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
- maverickIndependent-minded rule-breaker
gadfly · polemicist · satirist · critic · skeptic · challenger · questioner · debunker
Woman who entices
- seductressWoman who entices romantically
- vampAlluring seductress
- sirenWailing alert device
- coquetteTeasing, insincere charmer
tease · minx · enchantress · Casanova · Lothario · charmer · flirt · honeytrap
Someone who plays tricks
- tricksterCunning deceiver in myth
- hoaxerOne who deceives playfully
- impMinor mischief-making devil
- rogueDishonest or uncontrolled agent
rascal · tease · joker · jester · wag · impish · scamp · needler
Innovative cultural pioneers
- transgressiveViolating accepted boundaries
- DadaistAbsurdist avant-garde follower
- surrealistCreator of dreamlike art
- BanksyAnonymous political street artist
Warhol · Duchamp · scandalous · controversial · boundary-pushing · sensationalist · attention-seeker · stunt
rabble-rouser
One who stirs dissent
- firebrandAgitator or burning stick
- troublemakerOne who creates discord
- instigatorOne who provokes action
inciter · fomenter · agitprop · pot-stirrer · antagonist · seditionist · demagogue · inflammatory · polemicist · bomb-thrower
activist
Vigorous cause champion
- dissidentOpposer of established systems
- revolutionarySeeking fundamental systemic change
- radicalRoot-indicating symbol
anarchist · subversive · insurgent · rebel · militant · protester · saboteur · renegade · guerrilla · resistance
iconoclast
Attacker of cherished beliefs
- contrarianChronic majority-opposer
- hereticChallenger of official doctrine
- nonconformistRejects prevailing social standards
maverick · gadfly · polemicist · satirist · critic · skeptic · challenger · questioner · debunker · transgressive
temptress
Woman who entices
- seductressWoman who entices romantically
- vampAlluring seductress
- sirenWailing alert device
coquette · tease · minx · enchantress · Casanova · Lothario · charmer · flirt · honeytrap
prankster
Someone who plays tricks
rogue · rascal · tease · joker · jester · wag · impish · scamp · needler · goader
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- transgressiveViolating accepted boundaries
- DadaistAbsurdist avant-garde follower
- surrealistCreator of dreamlike art
Banksy · Warhol · Duchamp · scandalous · controversial · boundary-pushing · sensationalist · attention-seeker · stunt · spectacle
- difficult peopleegomaniac, egotist, nitpicker, drama queen, control freak
- troublemakerstroublemaker, rascals, delinquents, imps, brats
- troublemakingtroublemaker, troublemaking, instigate, agitator, instigating
- Pioneerspioneer, pioneers, forerunner, trailblazer, innovator
- Aggressorsaggressor, attacker, invader, assailant, warmonger
- dissentersdissenter, dissenters, dissidents, dissident, nonconformists
provocateurpeacemaker
Conflict resolution agent
uniter · reconciler · mediator · unifier · conciliator
provocateurdiplomat
Official foreign representative
peacemaker · appeaser · negotiator · mollifier · placater
provocateurmoderate
Lessen intensity or preside
centrist · compromiser · voice of reason · stabilizer · conformist
- agent provocateurInfiltrator inciting illegal action