What does “provoke” mean?
- 1
verbto cause a reaction, especially a strong or negative one
The new law provoked widespread protests.
- 2
verbto deliberately annoy someone so they become angry
Don’t let him provoke you into a fight.
Provoke at a glance
- Part of speech
- verb
- CEFR level
- C1 (advanced)
- Pronunciation
- /prəˈvoʊk/ · pruh-VOHK
How to use “provoke” correctly
“Thought-provoking” is positive: it makes you think. “Provoke sb into doing sth” is a useful pattern.
Common phrases with “provoke”
- provoke a reaction
- provoke outrage
- provoke debate
- thought-provoking
Synonyms, opposites and related words
Synonyms (similar meaning)
- cause
- trigger
- annoy
Word family
- provocation
- provocative
- unprovoked
“provoke” is on these word lists
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