provoke
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to anger, enrage, exasperate, or vex.
- Synonyms:
- infuriate, exacerbate, aggravate, annoy, irk
-
to stir up, arouse, or call forth (feelings, desires, or activity).
The mishap provoked a hearty laugh.
-
to incite or stimulate (a person, animal, etc.) to action.
-
to give rise to, induce, or bring about.
What could have provoked such an incident?
-
Obsolete. to summon.
verb
-
to anger or infuriate
-
to cause to act or behave in a certain manner; incite or stimulate
-
to promote (certain feelings, esp anger, indignation, etc) in a person
-
obsolete to summon
Related Words
Other Word Forms
- misprovoke verb (used with object)
- overprovoke verb
- preprovoke verb (used with object)
- provoker noun
- provoking adjective
- provokingly adverb
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
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.
Like Coal had done something to provoke him.
From Literature
But his ambitions beyond the north west of England have long been transparent - and long provoked a roll of the eyes or a raised eyebrow from Sir Keir.
From BBC
“She was strategic; she told a story sure to grip the hearts of her readers, that would provoke tears, outrage and action.”
The demolition provoked the worst religious violence in India for many decades - it was, he said years later, the "gravest setback" to secularism since the country's independence from Britain in 1947.
From BBC
The comments provoked anger among UK politicians and veterans' families.
From BBC
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.
