provocator

C2+ Topic:People & Society

US /ˈprɑvəˌkeɪtɚ/ UK /ˈprɒvəˌkeɪtə/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a person who deliberately provokes or incites trouble

The agent acted as a provocator to flush out the conspirators.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a person who deliberately... instigator agitatorinciterprovokertroublemaker firebrand

Opposites

peacemakerpacifierconciliator

Word family

Related forms provoke provocation provocative

Etymology

From Latin provocator ('a challenger'), from provocare ('to call forth, challenge'), from pro- ('forth') + vocare ('to call').

provocator Latin vocare Latin *wekʷ- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

People & Society Word Formation & Derivatives

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# provocator

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈprɑvəˌkeɪtɚ/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈprɒvəˌkeɪtə/

## Meanings
1. a person who deliberately provokes or incites trouble

## Examples
- The agent acted as a provocator to flush out the conspirators.

## Synonyms
- instigator
- agitator
- inciter
- provoker
- troublemaker
- firebrand

## Antonyms
- peacemaker
- pacifier
- conciliator

## Related Forms
- provoke
- provocation
- provocative

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: provocator
- Root: vocare
- Root: *wekʷ-

## Etymology
From Latin provocator ('a challenger'), from provocare ('to call forth, challenge'), from pro- ('forth') + vocare ('to call').

## AI Etymology
Provocator is from Latin provocator ('a challenger'), from provocare ('to call forth, challenge'), from pro- ('forth') + vocare ('to call'). Important recorded forms include provocator (Latin), vocare (Latin), and *wekʷ- (Proto-Indo-European). Morphologically, the word preserves a built structure whose named elements carry the historical sense into English. The modern sense remains close to that composition, with the parts narrowing into a single lexical item. In current use it covers a person who deliberately provokes or incites trouble. The wider family includes related words such as provoke, provocation, and provocative.

## Topics
- People & Society
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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provocator

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