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instigator

ins·ti·ga·tor

UK/ˈɪnstɪɡeɪtə/ US/ˈɪnstəˌɡeɪtɚ/ rare

noun

1.

someone who deliberately foments trouble

  • “she was the instigator of their quarrel”
Synonyms
2.

a person who initiates a course of action

Synonyms

Origin

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.

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WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.