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Is there a single word in English that describes when someone tries to make others hate each other or fight? So, for example, If person A and B are neighbors, so in this situation Person C tries to tell person A that person B might be taking a bit of their land. And tells person B that person A might be hooking up to their water intake. etc... It doesn't have to involve just two people. Maybe C tries to do the same between A, B, D, E, etc.

We have a similar word in Arabic, "فتنة" (fitna), which can mean various things, but this is one of its meanings.

I will give two examples on how this might work.

Person A is <the intended word> between B and C.

OR

Person A is doing a <another version of the word> between B and C.

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  • Does it have to be one word? If so, read the guidance on single word requests, if not, there's probably an answer.
    – Stuart F
    Commented Sep 3 at 13:06
  • @StuartF thanks. someone took over and added the "single-word-requests". although I am looking for a single work. I would welcome all the help I can get. I also updated the question with those guidelines
    – jaafar Nasrallah
    Commented Sep 3 at 15:19
  • 2
    Did you try google translate, come up with a number of arabic sentences with 'فتنة' used in it in your given context. That can be a start to ask here if it is the right direction. Also, you may not get the part of speech that you want, English may have a great idiom or adjective for it, but not necessarily a single noun. Both current answers sound like they fit your context but do not match the part of speech. My first thought was 'agent provocateur' but as that refers to a spy who tries to get the enemy to do things bad for them, the similarity may not work.
    – Mitch
    Commented Sep 3 at 17:39
  • 'What is a word that could define someone who likes to cause conflict? ... What would you call someone who does things knowing specifically that his/her actions will cause pain and/or conflict or completes an action just to get someone in trouble or hurt them?] For example, in Private Peaceful there are two people that are in love, but the Colonel goes out of his way to tell the father of the girl that the boy is a thief and would be bad for their ...
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Sep 3 at 17:50
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    @EdwinAshworth I don't understand downvotes based on whether the question is a duplicate or not regardless if the answer is relevant. Anyway, the OP gives the Arabic equivalent fitna, which is actually listed in the OED as a noun designating the action, not the agent. So no, the question is not a duplicate.
    – fev
    Commented Sep 3 at 18:07

10 Answers 10

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In general: hatemongering

the act or practice of stirring up hatred or enmity in others

variants: hate-mongering; hatemonger

[Merriam-Webster]

A phrase: play one against another (primarily for one's own benefit)

to encourage one person or group to compete or argue with another, hoping to gain some advantage from this situation

variant: play someone/something off against someone/something

[Cambridge]

In the news: "divisiveness" (adj. divisive); everyday political media term, AmE.

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  • While I do agree with stirring the pot. I know the term and it comes up when you search. But this seems to be a single word (If it isn't technically called a single word then whatever it is)
    – jaafar Nasrallah
    Commented Sep 4 at 4:14
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    Certainly applicable, although this may tend to be used more often for widespread statements dealing with groups. It might be more applicable to public figures who demonize certain groups, rather than an individual who exacerbates enmity between neighbors. One generally would not "monger" to an audience of only two individuals.
    – Nuclear Hoagie
    Commented Sep 4 at 16:53
  • @Nuclear Hoagie - "It doesn't have to involve just two people." Maybe a late edit, for your purposes; IDK.
    – HippoSawrUs
    Commented Sep 6 at 7:57
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Provocateur

  1. a person who provokes trouble, causes dissension, or the like; agitator

https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/provocateur

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  • Of course, in that example sentence it'd be a verb - but English happily allows verbing nouns to your heart's content, so in this case the word would be "provocateuring".
    – neminem
    Commented Sep 4 at 20:57
  • I'd love to upvote your answer, but it's missing a key element. You appear to be quoting a definition, but you haven't stated where you got it from. Failure to acknowledge your source is frowned upon, as it's tantamount to plagiarism. The simple solution is to edit your post to name the source; even better (if it was from an online source) would be to add a hyperlink. For a better understanding of how our site works, I recommend taking the EL&U Tour – and you get a bronze badge for doing so :-)
    – Chappo Hasn't Forgotten
    Commented Sep 5 at 4:20
  • This is a much better answer than the accepted "hatemongering", since it fits perfectly in "Person A is the provocateur between B and C."
    – RonJohn
    Commented 2 days ago
  • @RonJohn but adding "the" changes how I intended the sentence. the question is "describes when someone tries to make others hate each other" so I am asking for what that person does rather than what that person is described. I am asking for the action not the person
    – jaafar Nasrallah
    Commented 7 hours ago
  • But no one says “hatemongeribg between”. People are going to read that sentence and immediately peg you as not a native English speaker.
    – RonJohn
    Commented 6 hours ago
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Instigate (or the noun from it for the name of the action instigation. And I add this information now, as at the time the answer was first posted, it was not very clear if the OP needed a a noun designating the action).

to urge on, spur on, or incite to some action, esp. to some evil

to instigate others to strife (Collins)

According to (M-W),

instigate implies responsibility for initiating or encouraging someone else's action, and usually suggests dubious or underhanded intent.

Here's what OED says about it (sense 2.):

To bring about by incitement or persuasion; to stir up, foment, provoke.

You could say that C is instigating people against one another. Here is an example from The Americana about King Louis XI:

Pretending to reconcile contending parties, he secretly instigated them against each other, and when negotiating with a foreign government he bribed its messengers and established secret correspondences with them.

You can however use the more explicit phrase sow(ing) discord (between/among):

Trying to sow discord between man and man, class and class. C. Kingsley, Miscellanies (1860) vol. I. 13 (OED)

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  • This is far too ballpark ... parking-lot even.
    – Edwin Ashworth
    Commented Sep 3 at 13:27
  • Instigate is more about the act than the actor. Intrigue is more focused on the actor than instigate. But neither is used much as an attribute, they are both event driven.
    – Phil Sweet
    Commented Sep 3 at 14:06
  • @PhilSweet The question seems to be asking for a word for the act, not the actor. "describes when someone tries to..."
    – Barmar
    Commented Sep 3 at 15:18
  • I read "describe when someone" as "describe someone who". But I guess the differences in uses of how/what/when/who between languages makes it a crapshoot. "Describe when someone" isn't idiomatic among native speakers.
    – Phil Sweet
    Commented Sep 3 at 17:05
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    Sowing discord was my instant thought as well.
    – Janus Bahs Jacquet
    Commented Sep 4 at 10:38
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To stir the pot is to deliberately exacerbate conflict, often between other parties. It connotes that there is already a feeling of tension and that the pot-stirrer is making it worse on purpose.

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7

Not a single word but the term sowing discord has pretty much that exact meaning.

  • sowing - to put seeds in or on the ground so that plants will grow
  • discord - a lack of agreement or feeling of trust between people

'Sowing discord' is (metaphorically) planting the seeds of mistrust and dislike between people.

It's probably worth noting that this phrase seems to be associated with the bible and Christianity. Looking at some examples here, other similar phrases such as 'sowing chaos' are in common use so you could simply use something like 'sowing hatred' instead.

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6

MW troublemaker noun

: a person who consciously or unconsciously causes trouble

Kids Definition

troublemaker noun : a person who causes problems or disagreements

2009 Kennedy found still new reasons to hesitate. Soon, pens to help the president make that promised stroke began flooding the White House. Where was the troublemaker who put that line about pens into his campaign speeches? Kennedy jokingly inquired. The troublemaker was Wofford, who never did take hold on the White House staff and found himself over at the Peace Corps in 1962. "The Unraveling of America: A History of Liberalism in the 1960s" By Allen J. Matusow

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5

You could say that A is eristic.

eristic
Provoking strife, controversy or discord.
— Wiktionary

This word originates from the name of Eris, the Greek goddess of chaos, strife and discord, who indirectly caused the Trojan War in Greek mythology.

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  • 1
    I don't think this fits. It's a rarer term than the other suggestions, and is used in contexts like "eristic argumentation, eristic dialog, eristic disputation, eristic logic". The Cambridge Dictionary defines it as "used to describe an argument that aims to disagree with another one, rather than explain or discover the truth". So it would be applicable to a polemical and controversial style in public debates rather than the meaning of sowing discord between specific individuals using tactics and words very specifically tailored towards them in particular.
    – ghostarbeiter
    Commented Sep 5 at 7:21
2

A few possibilities come to mind. But they're not exact one to ones. However I think they'll get you close. Most of the closer equivalents will be two or three word combinations.

The closest of those usable in mixed company is 'Incendiary' (Noun or Adjective) Incendiary means someone or something that is designed to cause conflict, usually through provocative or inflammatory actions. Example: "Person A is an incendiary figure between B and C." Or: "Person A is acting in an incendiary manner between B and C."

A close synonym being 'inflammatory' Definitions: In Speech/Behavior: Refers to actions, words, or content that are designed to incite strong negative reactions, such as anger or conflict.

Example: "The politician’s inflammatory remarks sparked outrage among the crowd." Inflammatory language: This is used to describe speech or writing that is designed to cause conflict or provoke emotional reactions. Inflammatory actions: Refers to behaviors that are meant to stir up tension, often inciting anger or violence.

The closest ACTUAL word term we have is "sh*t-stirrer". (or pot stirrer in a slightly cleaned up version still referencing back to the original). Though some other two word combinations are fairly indicative as mentioned by other posters.

Hope that helps! Cheers!

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1

How about pit against? For the fight case at least.

phrasal verb pitted against; pitting against; pits against. : to cause (someone or something) to fight or compete against (another person or thing)

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0

For a colorful word, you could try stormy petrel.

a person who is fond of conflict or disagreement

[Merriam-Webster]

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