0%

provoke

pro·voke
P p

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [pruh-vohk]
    • /prəˈvoʊk/
    • /prəˈvəʊk/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [pruh-vohk]
    • /prəˈvoʊk/

Definitions of provoke word

  • verb with object provoke to anger, enrage, exasperate, or vex. 1
  • verb with object provoke to stir up, arouse, or call forth (feelings, desires, or activity): The mishap provoked a hearty laugh. 1
  • verb with object provoke to incite or stimulate (a person, animal, etc.) to action. 1
  • verb with object provoke to give rise to, induce, or bring about: What could have provoked such an incident? 1
  • verb with object provoke Obsolete. to summon. 1
  • transitive verb provoke cause: sth 1

Information block about the term

Origin of provoke

First appearance:

before 1400
One of the 24% oldest English words
1400-50; late Middle English < Latin prōvocāre to call forth, challenge, provoke, equivalent to prō- pro-1 + vocāre to call; akin to vōx voice

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Provoke

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

provoke popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 91% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
This word is included in each student's vocabulary. Most likely there is at least one movie with this word in the title.

provoke usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for provoke

verb provoke

  • abet — If one person abets another, they help or encourage them to do something criminal or wrong. Abet is often used in the legal expression 'aid and abet'.
  • acerbate — to embitter or exasperate
  • acidify — to convert into or become acid
  • act upon — anything done, being done, or to be done; deed; performance: a heroic act.
  • add fuel to the fire — Used other than as an idiom: see add,‎ fuel,‎ fire.

Antonyms for provoke

verb provoke

  • allay — If you allay someone's fears or doubts, you stop them feeling afraid or doubtful.
  • anesthetize — to cause anesthesia in; give an anesthetic to
  • anesthetized — to render physically insensible, as by an anesthetic.
  • appease — If you try to appease someone, you try to stop them from being angry by giving them what they want.
  • assuage — If you assuage an unpleasant feeling that someone has, you make them feel it less strongly.

Top questions with provoke

  • what does provoke mean?
  • what does provoke?
  • what is provoke?
  • how to provoke a miscarriage?
  • how to provoke labor?
  • how to provoke a guy?
  • what three things does drinking provoke in macbeth?
  • how to provoke an abortion at home?
  • what does provoke me?
  • what is provoke means?
  • how to provoke a period?
  • what does the word provoke mean?
  • what is provoke in tagalog?
  • what colors provoke what emotions?
  • why did the german invasion of danzig provoke war?

See also

Matching words

Was this page helpful?
Yes No
Thank you for your feedback! Tell your friends about this page
Tell us why?