provocation
Americannoun
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the act of provoking.
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something that incites, instigates, angers, or irritates.
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Criminal Law. words or conduct leading to killing in hot passion and without deliberation.
noun
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the act of provoking or inciting
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something that causes indignation, anger, etc
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English criminal law words or conduct that incite a person to attack another
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of provocation
1375–1425; late Middle English < Latin prōvocātiōn- (stem of prōvocātiō ) a calling forth, equivalent to prōvocāt ( us ) (past participle of prōvocāre to provoke; see -ate 1) + -iōn- -ion
Explanation
A provocation makes someone angry or sometimes even violent. Telling a professional boxer how ugly he is would be considered a provocation — one that might get you punched in the face. Provocation is the act of provoking someone — doing something just to get a reaction. During election season, opponents sometimes use provocation to try to ruin one another's reputation. However, sometimes it backfires and the one doing the provoking, looking like a bully, loses votes. Some celebrities whose stars are fading use provocation like making scandalous statements to try to keep their names in the headlines.
Vocabulary lists containing provocation
"Letter from Birmingham Jail" by Martin Luther King, Jr.
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The Call of the Wild
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This Week in Words: September 10 - 16, 2017
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Appeared in the October 30, 2025, print edition as 'Conversations And Provocations'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025
Provocations and shelling are becoming more intense, of course, this causes very deep concern.
From The Guardian • Feb. 21, 2022
“It is a deadly question,” says the literary critic Anis Shivani, author of the 2011 book “Against the Workshop: Provocations, Polemics, Controversies.”
From New York Times • Apr. 9, 2015
After Pride and Provocations, they talk about the search for the gay gene and whether the endeavor has any positive uses.
From Slate
Not to give just Provocations to their Neighbours, Indians, or others.
From British Committees, Commissions, and Councils of Trade and Plantations, 1622-1675 by Andrews, Charles M.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
