provoke  

Thesaurus for provoke

• verb
  • synonyms
    • arouse, elicit, enkindle, kindle, evoke, fire, raise, call forth, kick up, stimulate, harass, hassle, harry, chivy, chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, plague, molest, annoy, bother, cause, chafe, challenge, create, devil, do, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, make, nark, nettle, rag, rile, vex  

Pronunciation of provoke: P R AH0 V OW1 K (prə'voʊk)

Number of syllables of provoke: 2

Definition of provoke

• (v): provide the needed stimulus for  
• (v): call forth; "Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple"  
• (v): call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy"  
• (v): annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers"  

Examples of provoke

• He plans to provoke clarity act debate.  
• They are less likely to provoke a febrile state.  
• The ultimate motivations was to provoke the exodus of Palestinians.  
• The excess only serves to provoke the public.  
• Do not let the trolls provoke you into inadvisable excess.  
• Can it ever really be safe to provoke tamed evil  
• The drunken Marcello attempts to provoke the other partygoers into an orgy.  
• Is this not the sort of behaviour likely to provoke disharmony  
• Stimuli from the receptors of this phase then provoke the pharyngeal phase.  
• It requires 'acute' misery to provoke revolt, not ennui or misery.