provoke
Americanverb (used with object)
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to anger, enrage, exasperate, or vex.
- Synonyms:
- infuriate, exacerbate, aggravate, annoy, irk
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to stir up, arouse, or call forth (feelings, desires, or activity).
The mishap provoked a hearty laugh.
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to incite or stimulate (a person, animal, etc.) to action.
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to give rise to, induce, or bring about.
What could have provoked such an incident?
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Obsolete. to summon.
verb
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to anger or infuriate
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to cause to act or behave in a certain manner; incite or stimulate
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to promote (certain feelings, esp anger, indignation, etc) in a person
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obsolete to summon
Synonym Usage
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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provokernoun
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overprovokeverb
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misprovokeverb (used with object)
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preprovokeverb (used with object)
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provokingadjective
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provokinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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provokesimple
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provokessimple
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have provokedperfect
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has provokedperfect
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am provokingprogressive
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are provokingprogressive
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is provokingprogressive
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have been provokingperfect progressive
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has been provokingperfect progressive
Past
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provokedsimple
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had provokedperfect
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was provokingprogressive
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were provokingprogressive
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had been provokingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of provoke
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin prōvocāre “to call forth, challenge, provoke,” equivalent to prō- pro- 1 + vocāre “to call”; akin to vōx voice
Explanation
Anything that brings about a strong reaction can be said to provoke. You can provoke that lion if you want. But if he responds by attacking, don't come running to me. Let's consider some people who have been known to provoke. Lenny Bruce, was more than just a comedian. He was a "provocateur" who used humor to deliver his controversial diatribes. Humor was his way to provoke people to think. Madonna made her name not only by producing a memorable catalogue of great pop songs, she proved herself to be a master at provoking people through her outrageous attire and lyrics. The moral of this story? It's possible to provoke both positive and negative responses.
Vocabulary lists containing provoke
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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.
See Examples For:
Refn: How to provoke the soul is through stillness and silence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
Across the street, Seattle host committee officials insisted that the timing of the Pride Match was not designed to provoke.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
Harvard recently announced a cap on A’s in any given class, but it doesn’t address lower grades, including A-minuses, and such measures tend to provoke faculty resistance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Recognizing that certain content creators want to provoke rather than reflect reality creates useful cognitive distance.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 16, 2026
The wind is starting to provoke the water, and a big beefy cloud drifts toward us.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
Truly creative and inspiring art undermines that goal, because it provokes responses like empathy and critical thinking in audiences — which gets in the way of authoritarian domination.
From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026
Ms. Enyedi implicitly provokes such consideration through shots that often put flora in the foreground, with humans reduced to background extras.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026
"I understand the anger and fear this provokes, and I will quickly meet with the Jewish community. It must always feel safe in our country," he added.
From Barron's ● Mar. 14, 2026
The romantic element of Sondheim’s score is best captured in the gorgeous singing of Chris Hunter’s Anthony Hope, whose crooning of “Johanna” provokes an epidemic of goosebumps throughout La Mirada Theatre.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 3, 2026
It's a voice that provokes first irritation and then eagerness.
From "The Hunger Games" by Suzanne Collins
In a move that provoked anguish among affected families, Bush was granted conditional bail after entering his final guilty pleas in April.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
Salgado Araujo’s death provoked outrage in Mexico, where government officials this week called on U.S. prosecutors to open a criminal investigation into the case.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
Her death provoked widespread public grief and anger over the continued activity of paramilitary groups, which plagued the province during three decades of sectarian violence known as the Troubles.
From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026
Christophe Sanson, who calls himself the Noise Lawyer, said his firm has more than 100 cases involving air conditioning systems that have provoked legal wars, a sharp increase.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 1, 2026
Seeing her anywhere in the block besides the OIC office provoked comment, because Mama’s physical stature seemed to keep her from venturing very far.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
It said such devices contributed to higher atmospheric pollution of nitrogen oxides that are suspected of "provoking the development of respiratory diseases in humans".
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
For some time, Nicaragua’s leaders have largely avoided provoking Trump.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026
Lenin’s party would soon take power, provoking a long and bloody civil war out of which would emerge the Soviet Union.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
In April, one of the internet’s favorite therapists asked his followers a provoking question.
From Slate ● Jun. 15, 2026
Indeed, it used to be thought that Brunelleschi had produced his demonstration images around 1425 simply because scholars wanted to envisage these images as immediately provoking new art and new theories.
From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton
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.
