provoked

American  

[pruh-vohkt] / prəˈvoʊkt /

adjective

1. angered or enraged.

   The boys continued to test out the improved model until it was destroyed by a provoked weasel.

   For all the hype, the “riot” was actually quite mild—just a few empty beer cans and some stones thrown by an already provoked crowd.

2. stirred up or aroused.

   The longtime columnist says that it helps to have an easily provoked sense of indignation.

   To avoid being eaten, a provoked pufferfish blows itself up into a spiny living balloon the size of a volleyball.

3. prompted or caused by some action, behavior, or circumstance; brought about, often deliberately.

   His laugh was a contagious, easily provoked chuckle.

   A provoked bite can occur when a person teases a dog or tries to take away the dog's food while the dog is eating.

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verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of provoke.

Other Word Forms

• unprovoked adjective

Etymology

Origin of provoked

provoke ( def. ) + -ed ² ( def. )

Example Sentences

But the proposed deal has provoked anxiety among farmers who fear they will be undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbors.

From Barron's

The proposed deal has provoked anxiety among farmers in Paris and Rome who fear they will be undercut by a flow of cheaper goods from agricultural giant Brazil and its neighbors.

From Barron's

The council recently selected Whitegates Park as the new site, but the decision provoked protests from local campaigners over the potential loss of greenspace.

From BBC

But support for Kast increased in recent years as voter demands shifted from tackling inequality and improving pensions, which provoked violent, nationwide student-led protests in 2019, to tackling crime and immigration.

From The Wall Street Journal

Rivers’s signing had provoked a freakout over NFL development—Is America’s quarterback shortage this bleak?—but there was something to be said about having someone who’d done this before, many times.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• incensed