An adjective for a person who "is looking for problems"

Question

How would you describe a person who "is looking for problems" with one adjective?

Examples:

"A person who purposefully does something unnecessary for a particular reason (i.e. curiosity?), from which they won't get any joy or profit, but which might start an argument or cause problems/complications."

Elaboration:

Imagine the situation when you are in the underground parking lot, where places are grouped by 3 and each of this groups is partitioned with pillars. Now, there are 2 ways of parking your car. One is to park it at the place of the group, where all 3 places are free. This is a regular behavior. Another one is to park your car on the place next to another car, which is not parked right between the markings on the ground (taking up some space of your parking place), so if you park your car on the place next to it, it will probably partially obstruct driver's door opening., while you can enter/leave your car with ease. It is the only way to park your car at this particular place, you can't park it so that the driver of the adjacent car won't struggle to get into their car (they should be able to get in, but they will struggle a bit), you haven't done anything "against the law", you didn't really get any profit from it, but you might have caused a problem to another person (especially if they are not skinny), who is not keen on parking their vehicle correctly. How could you describe yourself in this situation with an adjective?

Answer 1

If it's deliberate - antagonistic (link)

1. acting in opposition; opposing, especially mutually. 2. hostile; unfriendly.

or troublesome (link)

1. causing trouble, annoyance, or difficulty; vexatious

or more awkwardly - troublemaking

If it's careless/reckless, maybe boorish (link)

1. of or like a boor; unmannered; crude; insensitive.

or loutish (link)

1. like or characteristic of a lout; awkward; clumsy; boorish.

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Edit: Leaving my original response as is, but to address the elaboration on the original question:

I think the question of motive is really important in this scenario. In your parking lot example, the person parking outside the lines has done something wrong. But I can see plenty of motivations for the person parking up close to their driver-side door, and each infers a range of different adjectives.

• They're doing it to deliberately inconvenience a wrongdoer, or demonstrate the wrongdoing to the perpetrator. (antagonistic, indignant, vindictive)
• They're doing it because the parking spot next to the wrongdoer is superior in some way to an empty group of spaces, and they refuse to modify their behaviour just because someone else has done the wrong thing. (unyielding, obstinate, stubborn, uncompromising, adamant)
• They're doing it in the hope that it will start a confrontation with the wrongdoer. (confrontational, pugnatious, belligerent, bellicose, combative, adversarial)
• They're doing it so they're not inconveniencing a third-party by parking outside their own lines. (righteous, virtuous, principled)

I think antagonistic is still probably the best general answer, but hopefully some consideration of the different motives might narrow it down to something more accurate.

Answer 2

Instigate [in-sti-geyt] /verb (used with object)

1. to cause by incitement; foment.

2. to urge, provoke, or incite to some action or course.

adjective form: instigative

Source: Dictionary.com

Or

Provocative [pruh-vok-uh-tiv] /adjective

1. tending or serving to provoke; inciting, stimulating, irritating, or vexing.

Source: Dictionary.com

Answer 3

There are two expressions I'd use to describe exactly the kind of person described by the OP. One of them is dialect, and the other is vulgar.

In Scotland and N Ireland (maybe elsewhere too?), a person who enjoys inciting arguments and disputes, or is generally oppositional, is described as contrary. This is pronounced contrAIRy, with a strong stress on the 'a'.

More generally, a deliberate and gratuitous troublemaker can be called a shit-stirrer.

Answer 4

Reckless [rek-lis] /adjective

1. utterly unconcerned about the consequences of some action; without caution;

Source: Dictionary.com

Answer 5

I like antagonistic; that said, the word that comes to my mind is

belligerent

adjective

1. hostile and aggressive. "a bull-necked, belligerent old man"

synonyms: hostile, aggressive, threatening, antagonistic, warlike, warmongering, hawkish, pugnacious, bellicose, truculent, confrontational, contentious, militant, combative

Confrontational works as well.

Answer 6

Audacious /adjective

1. showing a willingness to take surprisingly bold risks.
2. showing an impudent lack of respect.

I think the second definition fits somewhat.

Answer 7

I have a friend who can be like this. I would call him chaotic, in the sense that it is used for alignments in D&D:

Chaos implies freedom, adaptability, and flexibility. On the downside, chaos can include recklessness, resentment toward legitimate authority, arbitrary actions, and irresponsibility. Those who promote chaotic behavior say that only unfettered personal freedom allows people to express themselves fully and lets society benefit from the potential that its individuals have within them. -Wikipedia

Other possibilities include inconsiderate or divisive

Answer 8

agitator

a person who urges others to protest or rebel. "an activist and agitator who fought for striking miners" synonyms: troublemaker, rabble-rouser, agent provocateur, demagogue, incendiary;

Edit: this is the google definition. I can't find a way to link to it except to say to to google.com and type in agitator

Answer 9

Self-serving [self-sur-ving] /adjective

1. preoccupied with one's own interests, often disregarding the truth or the interests, well-being, etc., of others.

Source: Dictionary.com

Answer 10

I'd call the person who parked this way a jerk. They are being jerkish.

They could also be described as inconsiderate or selfish.

selfish (adj.) 1. a. Devoted to or concerned with one's own advantage or welfare to the exclusion of regard for others. (OED)

Answer 11

"Vexatious" is the legal term for this.

LAW: denoting an action or the bringer of an action that is brought without sufficient grounds for winning, purely to cause annoyance to the defendant.

In layman terms you could say "bothersome".

Answer 12

How about 'Nitpicker'

A nitpicker is a person who finds faults, however small or unimportant, everywhere they look. After seeing a movie, a nitpicker lists every tiny thing he or she didn't like about it. Use the informal nitpicker when you're talking about someone who is extremely critical, even when those criticisms seem inconsequential.

Source : vocabulary.com

Answer 13

Quarrelsome

M/W: apt or disposed to quarrel in an often petty manner

LINK

This relies on the person's motivation being to cause trouble and be a part of it. If someone has no motivation to cause trouble, then they are merely self-centered with a proclivity to be in situations where that affects others.

Answer 14

Miscreant [mis-kree-uh nt]/ adjective

1. depraved, villainous, or base.
2. Archaic. holding a false or unorthodox religious belief; heretical.

Villainous or Wicked can also be used depending on the context.

Source: Dictionary.com

Answer 15

busybody -- a person who pries into or meddles in the affairs of others.

Answer 16

Why does not curious suffice? A person who is more focussed on learning new things than caring about the consequences of whatever seems necessary to learn those things.

And how could you possibly say that stilling curiosity would not bring joy or profit to anyone? Do you have brain damage?