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Definition of Provoke
1. Verb. Call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses). "Evoke sympathy"
Generic synonyms: Create, Make
Specialized synonyms: Strike A Chord, Touch A Chord, Ask For, Invite, Draw, Rekindle, Infatuate, Prick, Fire Up, Heat, Ignite, Inflame, Stir Up, Wake, Excite, Shake, Shake Up, Stimulate, Stir, Excite, Anger, Discomfit, Discompose, Disconcert, Untune, Upset, Shame, Bruise, Hurt, Injure, Offend, Spite, Wound, Overcome, Overpower, Overtake, Overwhelm, Sweep Over, Whelm, Interest
Derivative terms: Arousal, Elicitation, Evocation, Evocative, Provocation, Provocative
2. Verb. Evoke or provoke to appear or occur. "Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple"
Related verbs: Arouse, Bring Up, Call Down, Call Forth, Conjure, Conjure Up, Evoke, Invoke, Put Forward, Raise, Stir
Generic synonyms: Cause, Do, Make
Specialized synonyms: Pick
Derivative terms: Evocation, Provocation
3. Verb. Provide the needed stimulus for. "They provoke him to write the letter"
Specialized synonyms: Entice, Lure, Tempt, Rejuvenate, Jog, Incite, Instigate, Set Off, Stir Up, Agitate, Foment, Stir Up
Generic synonyms: Challenge
Derivative terms: Provocation, Provocation, Provocative, Stimulant, Stimulus
4. Verb. Annoy continually or chronically. "The performance is likely to provoke Sue"; "This man harasses his female co-workers"
Specialized synonyms: Goad, Needle, Bedevil, Crucify, Dun, Frustrate, Rag, Torment, Haze
Generic synonyms: Annoy, Bother, Chafe, Devil, Get At, Get To, Gravel, Irritate, Nark, Nettle, Rag, Rile, Vex
Derivative terms: Harasser, Harassment, Harrier, Hassle, Molestation, Plague, Provocation, Provocative, Provoker
Definition of Provoke
1. v. t. To call forth; to call into being or action; esp., to incense to action, a faculty or passion, as love, hate, or ambition; hence, commonly, to incite, as a person, to action by a challenge, by taunts, or by defiance; to exasperate; to irritate; to offend intolerably; to cause to retaliate.
2. v. i. To cause provocation or anger.
Definition of Provoke
1. Verb. (transitive) to cause someone to become annoyed or angry. ¹
2. Verb. (transitive) to bring about a reaction. ¹
¹ Source: wiktionary.com
Definition of Provoke
1. to incite to anger or resentment [v -VOKED, -VOKING, -VOKES]
Lexicographical Neighbors of Provoke
Literary usage of Provoke
Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:
1. The Iliad of Homer by Homer (1796)
"... provoke their tears, The tedious length of nine revolving years. 36* Not for
their grief the Grecian hoft I blame; ..."
2. The Dictionary of National Biography by Sidney Lee (1909)
"... the duke's guns were distributed by pairs between the infantry battalions,
and their fire so galled the highlanders as to provoke them to charge, ..."
3. The New Testament of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ by American Committee of Revision (1881)
"... one another to provoke unto love and good works ; not forsaking the 25 assembling
of ourselves together, ..."
4. The American Journal of the Medical Sciences by Southern Society for Clinical Investigation (U.S.) (1890)
"AN ELECTRIC BREAST-CUP TO provoke LABOR-PAINS. Taking advantage of the familiar
fact that irritation of the breasts often causes the uterus to contract, ..."
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