provoked
Americanadjective
-
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.
-
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.
-
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.
verb
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of provoked
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.
In fact, the entire stock market could be best described as a casino that incentivizes absurd growth like the historic tech bubble provoked by the spread of artificial intelligence.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
But her intervention has provoked a bit of a backlash among former colleagues and has raised some questions around the current first minister's approach going forward.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
That conflict provoked a sharp contraction in the manufacturing economy, with the Institute for Supply Management’s purchasing managers index falling to 49.1 by mid-2019.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 13, 2026
But AI has provoked anxiety among artists who worry about their music being used to train models without compensation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
“It wasn’t supposed to go that way. I provoked him.”
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
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.
