Agent provocateur
/ˈeɪ.dʒənt ˌpɹəʊ.vɒk.æ.tʊə(ɹ)/ noun
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 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.""
- 2 a secret agent who incites suspected persons to commit illegal acts wordnet
Example
More examples""This agent-provocateur business is quite foreign to British justice.""
Etymology
Borrowed from French agent provocateur (literally “provocative agent”).