Synonyms for provoke
prəˈvoʊkpro·voke

WiktionaryRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. provokeverb

   to bring about a reaction.

   Synonyms:
   rouse, inflame, stir up, evoke, invoke, whip up, bring about, incite, grill, induce, discompose, instigate, set off, egg on, engender

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. provoke

   One may be annoyed by the well-meaning awkwardness of a servant, irritated by a tight shoe or a thoughtless remark, vexed at some careless neglect or needless misfortune, wounded by the ingratitude of child or friend. To tease is to give some slight and perhaps playful annoyance. Aggravate in the sense of offend is colloquial. To provoke, literally to call out or challenge, is to begin a contest; one provokes another to violence. To affront is to offer some defiant offense or indignity, as it were, to one's face; it is somewhat less than to insult. Compare PIQUE.

   Synonyms:
   affront, aggravate, annoy, displease, exasperate, insult, irritate, offend, tease, vex, wound

   Antonyms:
   conciliate, content, gratify, honor, please

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. provoke

   Synonyms:
   educe, summon, rouse, irritate, excite, challenge, vex, impel, offend, exasperate, anger, tantalize

   Antonyms:
   allay, relegate, pacify, soothe, conciliate

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:3.0 / 1 vote

1. arouse, elicit, enkindle, kindle, evoke, fire, raise, provokeverb

   call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)

   "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy"

   Synonyms:
   elevate, resurrect, force out, beset, send away, awake, levy, call forth, chivy, kick upstairs, give the sack, suggest, stimulate, lift, heighten, harry, upgrade, educe, dismiss, kick up, fire, leaven, chivvy, bring up, rouse, invoke, raise, wind up, recruit, inflame, chevvy, farm, extract, excite, grow, conjure, upraise, give the axe, prove, awaken, chevy, conjure up, conflagrate, molest, go off, displace, plague, wake, waken, turn on, enhance, give notice, terminate, fuel, arouse, wake up, can, sack, advance, perk up, stir, burn, burn down, put forward, sex, enkindle, evoke, rear, harass, draw out, set up, elicit, nurture, parent, energize, produce, erect, discharge, kindle, put up, promote, hassle, open fire, brace, energise, paint a picture, get up, call down, come alive

2. provoke, evoke, call forth, kick upverb

   evoke or provoke to appear or occur

   "Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple"

   Synonyms:
   conjure, molest, extract, harry, suggest, kick up, beset, conjure up, hassle, bring up, chevy, chivy, invoke, paint a picture, stir, put forward, call down, harass, enkindle, arouse, call forth, evoke, kindle, educe, draw out, elicit, chevvy, chivvy, stimulate, plague, fire, raise

3. provoke, stimulateverb

   provide the needed stimulus for

   Synonyms:
   beset, kindle, excite, shake up, get, shake, chevvy, energize, perk up, harass, enkindle, hasten, stir, elicit, energise, chivy, make, fire, arouse, call forth, plague, cause, kick up, induce, raise, stimulate, have, harry, chivvy, brace, evoke, molest, chevy, rush, hassle

4. harass, hassle, harry, chivy, chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, plague, molest, provokeverb

   annoy continually or chronically

   "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers"

   Synonyms:
   stimulate, harry, kick up, beset, hassle, set upon, chevy, chivy, kindle, harass, arouse, enkindle, evoke, call forth, molest, elicit, incrust, encrust, chivvy, ravage, chevvy, plague, blight, fire, raise

Matched Categories

1. • Challenge

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:5.0 / 1 vote

1. provokeverb

   Synonyms:
   excite, stimulate, arouse, awaken, incite, move, kindle, inflame, animate, instigate, impel, stir up, work up

2. provokeverb

   Synonyms:
   exasperate, incense, enrage, chafe, anger, irritate, exacerbate, nettle, offend, affront, infuriate, give offence or umbrage to, put out, put out of humor, work into a passion, lash into fury, raise one's ire, raise one's dander, make one's blood boil, drive one mad

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. provokeverb

   Synonyms:
   incite, stimulate, instigate, rouse, exasperate, displease, aggravate, offend

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "provoke":

   cause, trigger, induce, arouse, raise, incite

How to pronounce provoke?

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use provoke in a sentence?

1. John McCain:

   The argument that I hear from the administration is that we don't want to provoke Vladimir Putin. That is just Orwellian... history will judge this administration incredibly harshly, the only thing that will dissuade Vladimir Putin from what he is doing is when coffins come back to the families in Russia.

2. Jorge Sharp:

   More repression won't resolve the social injustices, it will only provoke more violence.

3. Marco Rubio:

   I don't think it's a real request, i think he did it to get you guys. I think he did it to provoke you to ask me and others and get outraged by it. He plays it like a violin and everyone falls into it. That's not a real request.

4. Joerg Schreiber:

   The spike in demand at the end of 2014 will literally provoke a collapse in sales.

5. Drew Thompson:

   Honestly, this isn't a good time for Xi Jinping to provoke a military conflict right before the 20th party congress. It's in Xi Jinping's interest to manage this rationally and not instigate a crisis on top of all the other crises Xi Jinping has to deal with.