agent provocateur noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced American Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of agent provocateur noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

agent provocateur

noun

NAmE//ˌɑʒɑæɪɡraveːÆ’ proʊˌvɑkəˈtər//

(pl. agents provocateurs

NAmE//ˌɑʒɑæɪɡraveːÆ’ proʊˌvɑkəˈtər//

) (also provocateur) (from French)

a person who is employed by a government to encourage people in political groups to do something illegal so that they can be arrested

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