instigator
Syllables: in·sti·gat·or/ˈɪnstɪɡeɪtə/US/ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪtɚ/
instigator noun: a person who intentionally instigates, incites, or starts something, especially one that creates trouble.
Noun
instigator (plural instigators)
- A person who intentionally instigates, incites, or starts something, especially one that creates trouble.
- Near-synonyms: see Thesaurus:troublemaker
- [T]he Pope doth not keepe his quarter, but will needs breake forth of the rayles and limits of that diſtinction, taking vpon him to be authorized alſo temporally, and that, for the ſuppreſſion and ſubverſion of the Civill Soveraignity, […] whence muſt neceſſarily ariſe either privie complottings...1606, Edvvard Forset [i.e., Edward Forsett], “An Examination of a Position Published by P. R. in the Preface of His Treatise, Tending to Mitigation, Concerning the Lawfullnesse of the Popes Power...
- Synonyms:
- inciter, troublemaker, agitator, bad boy, bad news, bear, beggar, bhoy, blackguard, booger
instigator meaning in Urdu, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada
instigator in Urdu
- فتنہ انگیز, مفسد, محرک, شہ دینے والا
instigator in Telugu
- instigator; one who excites quarrels
- అంకకాడు aṅkakāḍu
- an instigator, secret agent, or tempter
- సూత్రధారి sūtradhāri
instigator in Malayalam
- prime mover, initiator, motivator
- പ്രേരകൻ, ഹേതുമാൻ, കാരണക്കാരൻ, പ്രേരകശക്തി, യോക്താ, യോക്താവ്
instigator in Kannada
- ಪ್ರೇರೇಪಕ, ಪ್ರಚೋದಕ, ಚಿತಾವಣೆಗಾರ, ಎತ್ತಿಕಟ್ಟುವವ
More languagesFewer languages
- instigator in Sanskrit
- अज ajá
- instigator in Arabic
- مُحَرِّض muḥarriḍ, مُحَرِّضَة muḥarriḍa
Examples of instigator in a sentence
- Evidently the instigator of this reprimand had not visited the railway in blackberry time!1950 March, Eric S. Tonks, “The Whitacre—Hampton-in-Arden Line, L.M.R.”, in Railway Magazine, page 187:
- In studies designed to arouse aggression, the instigator often not only threatens the subject, but also expresses an extremely high self-evaluation.1964, Albert Pepitone, “The Reaction to Boastfulness”, in Attraction and Hostility: An Experimental Analysis of Interpersonal and Self...
- I do not want to be the instigator of anguish for her.1978 December 23, Nancy Walker, “Bah! Humbug!”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 22, page 16:
- The instigator has the power to start the conflict.2004, Erik A. Fisher, Steven W. Sharp, “The Players”, in The Art of Managing Everyday Conflict: Understanding Emotions and Power Struggles...
Synonyms of instigator
30 more synonymsFewer synonyms
Forms of instigator
| plural | instigators |
|---|---|
| alternative form (obsolete, rare) | instigatour |
Origin of instigator
From Latin īnstīgātor (“stimulator”), from īnstīgāre (present infinitive of īnstīgō (“to incite, set on, stimulate, rouse or urge”), possibly from Proto-Indo-European *(s)teyg- (“to be sharp, to stab; to puncture; to goad”)) + -or (from -ō (suffix forming masculine agent nouns), from Proto-Indo-European *-h₃onh₂- (suffix forming nouns denoting authority or burden)); cognate with French instigateur. By surface analysis, instigate + -or.
Words formed from instigator
Questions about instigator
- What does instigator mean?
- Instigator means a person who intentionally instigates, incites, or starts something, especially one that creates trouble.
- What is instigator in Urdu?
- Instigator in Urdu is فتنہ انگیز, مفسد, محرک. See Instigator meaning in Urdu.
- How do you use instigator in a sentence?
- Evidently the instigator of this reprimand had not visited the railway in blackberry time!
- What part of speech is instigator?
- Instigator is a noun.
- How do you pronounce instigator?
- Instigator is pronounced /ˈɪnstɪɡeɪtə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of instigator?
- The plural of instigator is instigators.
Words near instigator in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: instigator (page history and authors); instigator (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); అంకకాడు (Telugu) (page history and authors); instigator (Olam, E.K. Kurup corpus) (dataset and license); instigator (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); अज (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-uk-instigator.ogg, en-au-instigator.ogg.
Cite this entry: “instigator.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/instigator. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.