An agent provocateur is a person who is employed by the government or the police to encourage certain groups of people to break the law, so they can arrest them or make them lose public support.
Agents provocateurs may seek to discredit the opposition.
a secret agent employed to provoke suspected persons to commit illegal acts and so be discredited or liable to punishment
agent provocateur in American English
(aˈʒɑ̃ pʀɔvɔkaˈtœʀ)
French
Word forms: plural French aˈgents provocaˈteurs (aˈʒɑ̃ pʀɔvɔkaˈtœʀ)
1.
a person hired to join a labor union, political party, etc. in order to incite its members to actions that will make them or their organization liable to penalty
2.
a secret agent of a foreign nation, esp. one who incites citizens to rebellion, illegal acts, etc.
Word origin
Fr
Examples of 'agent provocateur' in a sentence
agent provocateur
Obviously he was another agent provocateur, entrapping a suspect.
Shah, Idries KARA KUSH
`I've often wondered how largely illness acts as agent provocateur for religious faith.