instigator

[ in-sti-gey-ter ]
See synonyms for instigator on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person or thing that provokes or incites an action or course:Peaceful protesters outnumbered the violent instigators, and they kept the demonstration from becoming a riot.Plays to be performed at the festival focus on a theme of how youth can be the instigators of positive change.

Origin of instigator

1
First recorded in 1590–1600; from Latin instigātor, equivalent to instigāt(us) + -or -or2; see instigate
  • Rarely in·sti·gant [in-sti-guhnt] /ˈɪn stɪ gənt/ .

Words Nearby instigator

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use instigator in a sentence

  • There is something disingenuous about his playing both instigator and victim.

  • He was definitely an instigator [of the conversation], but I never felt intimidated.

  • He felt terrible, especially because it was his friend who had clearly been the instigator of the fight.

    What Guns Do, and What they Don't | Megan McArdle | December 10, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
  • Soon afterwards Mathurin Lejeusne, the instigator of the sacrilege, was shot for some breach of military duty.

    Belgium | George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
  • He saw at once that the man had been put up to act in this way by some one, and had little doubt that Brigson was the instigator.

    Eric, or Little by Little | Frederic W. Farrar
  • To Gudrun, who wakes from sleep by his side, he points to Brynhild as the instigator of the crime, and dies.

  • In fact, a night's reflection had convinced him that Clameran was the instigator of the two attempts to kill him.

    File No. 113 | Emile Gaboriau
  • Would ye lay contrivances against the enlightened races of the earth, ye instigator of illegal crimes?

    Sixes and Sevens | O. Henry