to provoke
144
3.6
- verb
- /prəˈvoʊk/
:
provocar
- Duchamp disliked the group as he disliked all groups and decided to provoke them, to test them even.
- provoke anger
- provoke strong reactions
- provoke a backlash
Why does that word, you know, tend to provoke people one way or the other?
- Why does that word, you know, tend to provoke people one way or the other?
- But he did like to provoke a lot.
- And, and I mean, that's seems to be what we do is we provoke, you know, and then capitalize.
- They said that they heard that they were going to try to provoke me.
- I never went out there looking for trouble or trying to provoke people.
- So he started the argument by provoking me.
- Because in fact, some people they do shows who it's like, I'm going to try to provoke the audience.
- OK, What I've had it with, I've had it with drivers that intentionally provoke road rage on purpose.
- Some historians say the Chaffins raid was a case of terrible timing, while others argue that it was calculated to provoke the miners.
- But my regular audience knows that I often provoke them, but if they wait, I bring them back into a compatible point of view.
- There's no like, there's no provoking because they can just do that.
- How can they sort of do less of the things that that provoke that might provoke anger, right?
- The other thing that they do is that they they provoke.
- I UN unnecessarily provoking people feels It's it's it's you say this is beta testing.
Examples
-
They cause discussion and they provoke debates.
-
Actually, they provoke all kinds of reactions, and we'll see a few more of those.
-
I think you say these things to provoke me.
-
What this movement has done is question, challenge and provoke behavior change.
-
They are trying to provoke you and everyone here.
-
Mostly, the police were reluctant to act, in case they provoked something violent that might spread.
Fiction book (1993) -
They would parade around in black areas trying to provoke a riot.
-
Sometimes protesters or insurgents seek to provoke violations of law on the part of their opponents.
-
Answering their call would be wasteful and would provoke a popular backlash.
Academic text (1999) -
He likes to provoke his friends with silly jokes to see their reactions.
Synonyms
524
2.8
Cause a person to feel hurt, upset and angry because of your words or actions
302
4.0
Annoy someone again and again to make them feel worried or uncomfortable
246
1.0
Make someone slightly angry or bothered by small repeated actions
165
4.8
To start a fight or argument by annoying someone
158
3.2
Make someone very annoyed or upset
121
5.6
To cause constant trouble and suffering to people and things
114
1.0
To make someone very upset or annoyed
93
5.8
To mock someone again and again to make them angry or upset
78
2.9
Make someone feel annoyed or impatient, often by repeated small actions
68
3.7
To make someone very angry
63
6.9
Make someone annoyed, often by small things
48
4.8
To make people feel strong emotions like anger or fear
47
4.4
To bother someone again and again
46
5.0
Make someone very angry
43
4.2
Annoy someone and make them angrier
42
4.8
To make people feel strongly excited or upset
31
7.6
To make someone angry or unfriendly
25
7.2
To annoy someone again and again so they feel bothered
15
7.9
To surround and cause repeated problems for someone or something
14
6.9
To urge someone to act by annoying or teasing them
12
8.4
Annoy or disturb someone repeatedly
9
7.2
Upset people by challenging usual views
8
6.8
Make someone angry or annoyed on purpose by teasing them
7
4.9
To bother someone again and again until they feel angry
7
5.9
Make someone very annoyed by doing the same thing again and again
5
5.3
To cause fights or problems between people on purpose
3
7.6
To bother someone again and again so they feel upset or tired
2
8.2
To offend someone and make them feel annoyed or hurt
1
7.1
To do or say something on purpose to annoy someone
1
9.1
To make someone angry
1
7.9
To make someone angry or upset
1
7.9
To annoy someone or make them feel defensive
To annoy someone so they become defensive
To cause trouble between people to get attention
To annoy someone by asking or reminding them again and again
To annoy or chase someone again and again
Antonyms
How Annoying
Surface Forms
Morphology
provoke = pro + voke
Though segmentable as 'pro-' + 'voke', 'voke' is not a standalone English word and the verb is a Latinate borrowing, so learners cannot reliably derive the meaning from these parts.
Etymology
Provoke comes from Latin parts pro- 'forward' and vocare 'to call'. Think of it as 'calling someone out' to get a reaction, so to provoke someone is to annoy or push them on purpose to make them react.