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
- nonprovocation noun
- overprovocation noun
- preprovocation noun
- provocational adjective
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; -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.
A disclaimer in Jeffrey Epstein’s email signature was a provocation as much as a warning: The contents of this message “may constitute inside information.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
The South Korean military is ready to "respond overwhelmingly to any provocation," JCS added.
From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026
On a second watch, “Sirāt” became a philosophical provocation — a movie that questions everything we believe about family and security and community and faith.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026
Others speculated that, due to Fennell’s penchant for audience provocation, the quotation marks were an Easter egg indicating that her take on Brontë’s novel would be far from your great-great-grandmother’s “Wuthering Heights.”
From Salon • Feb. 14, 2026
He forbade anyone to talk back to him and could tolerate no opposition; he viewed the slightest disagreement as a provocation.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
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.
