provoking

American  

[pruh-voh-king] / prəˈvoʊ kɪŋ /

adjective

1. serving to provoke; causing annoyance.

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Other Word Forms

• provokingly adverb
• unprovoking adjective
• unprovokingly adverb

Etymology

Origin of provoking

First recorded in 1520–30; provoke + -ing ²

Example Sentences

But Milliken, backed by the UC regents, resisted calls for confrontation, wary of provoking retaliation against the nine other system campuses also under investigation.

From Salon

The Egyptian did not disguise his belief he had been made a scapegoat, provoking divisive debate when Slot and Liverpool needed unity and calm – but was his claim justified?

From BBC

Neither country has an appetite for provoking the U.S. right now.

From The Wall Street Journal

“And tomorrow Lady Constance will be out all day visiting the poor, which means we may come and go—” She could have said, “without provoking a ridiculous tantrum,” but that would have been unkind.

From Literature

The impact appeared to ripple out across markets, provoking a decline in prices of stocks and bonds.

From MarketWatch