provoke
verb (used with object)
to anger, enrage, exasperate, or vex.
had provoked
-
past perfectof provoke.past perfect
Used to express a completed action that took place before another specific past action occurred.
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.
Sweeney said this had "provoked a significant picket and protest at the site".
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
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 ● Dec. 15, 2025
Within hours of the first arrests, Angel City, a women’s soccer club, became the first local sports franchise to issue a statement, recognizing the “fear and uncertainty” the raids had provoked.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 17, 2025
The attorney general’s revelations — and Mr. Noboa’s subsequent plan to transfer gang leaders — had provoked intense anger.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2024
On that particular Holy Thursday, Severo was pacing up and down the drawing room worrying about the scandal his daughter had provoked at mass.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
