Provoke tense scaffolder? (7)
I believe the answer is:
trigger
'provoke' is the definition.
'tense scaffolder?' is the wordplay.
'tense' becomes 't' (abbreviation used in many dictionaries).
'scaffolder?' becomes 'rigger' (I've seen this before).
't'+'rigger'='TRIGGER'
(Other definitions for trigger that I've seen before include "Gun firing device" , "make things happen" , "Releasing device" , "prompt" , "Part of gun" .)