provoke Hear it!

provoke Definition

pro·voke (prə vōk′, prō-)

transitive verb -·voked′, -·vok′·ing

  1. to excite to some action or feeling
  2. to anger, irritate, or annoy
  3. to stir up (action or feeling)
  4. to call forth; evoke to provoke a smile

Etymology: ME provoken < MFr provoquer < L provocare, to call forth < pro-, pro- + vocare, to call < vox, voice

provoke Related Forms
pro·vok′er noun
provoke Synonyms

provoke

v.

  1. To vex

    irritate, put out, aggravate; see bother 2.

  2. To incite

    stir, rouse, arouse, excite, stimulate, pique, incite, spur, evoke, prompt, prod, motivate, inspire, instigate, kindle, foment, stir up, whip up, galvanize; see also incite.

  3. To cause

    make, produce, bring about; see begin 1. See syn. study at irritate.

provoke, in this connection, implies rather generally an arousing to some action or feeling thought-provoking; excite suggests a more powerful or profound stirring or moving of the thoughts or emotions it excites my imagination; stimulate implies arousing to increased activity as if by goading or pricking and often connotes bringing out of a state of inactivity or indifference to stimulate one's enthusiasm; pique suggests stimulating as if by irritating mildly to pique one's curiosity

provoke Usage Examples

Object

  • outrage: His choreography for The Rite of Spring was to provoke even greater outrage.
  • controversy: Religion, by its very nature, provokes controversy.
  • outcry: At the very least, it provoked no public outcry.
  • reaction: Or are you just trying to provoke some angry reaction from the male posters?
  • backlash: The publication of pictures of elite Polish troops posing for photos with US soldiers in Iraq provoked a backlash in Poland.
  • ire: Richard Dawkins, memes excepted, attempts some sort of balance while provoking ire and dislike.

Subject

  • stimulus: Pain and Depression Pain is a subjective experience that is characteristically provoked by peripheral stimuli, such as heat or cold.

Noun phrase with adjective complement

  • such: At home, carrying out normal activities did not provoke symptoms such as chest pain or breathlessness.

Adjective complement

  • more: The campaign, which cost £ 2 million, provoked more than 100 complaints.

Modifying Another Word

  • deliberately: Rankin was convinced that Franklin D. Roosevelt had deliberately provoked the Japanese attack.
  • inevitably: To worship according to one vision of man, and to live according to another, will inevitably provoke conflict in the soul.
  • easily: Be aware of yellow box junctions and ' keep clear ' areas: blocking these can so easily provoke an argument.
  • thus: The probable cause was a sudden control circuit failure causing the air brakes to be locked open and thus provoking a stall.
  • sometimes: Of course, that might sometimes provoke an unpleasant response.
  • merely: A nationwide campaign of protests and petitioning merely provoked the enraged authorities to deport four of the delegation's members to Malta.

Used with why or when

  • when: This subspecies has rather distinctive plumage - click here for pictures, and the reaction they provoked when we first published them.
  • what: Undeniably, the American establishment and its British glove puppets have spent the past generation recklessly provoking what has just happened.

Preposition: in

  • part: This charter was provoked in part by a previous piece of herbal legislation produced by his father, Henry VII.
  • way: Christopher's session was extremely thought provoking in a very positive way.

Preposition: by

  • stimulus: Pain and Depression Pain is a subjective experience that is characteristically provoked by peripheral stimuli, such as heat or cold.