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?

How to say provoke in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use provoke in a sentence?

1. Isabel Hilton:

   Beijing( sees the incursions) as an attempt by their own population to troll Taiwan, to provoke Taiwan, to make fun of Taiwan's incompetence. They treat it as a propaganda victory.

2. Lara Trump:

   Well, look, The President wasn't doing anything, I don't think, to provoke people to threaten this woman at all, the President was having fun at a Trump rally.

3. Hugo Cancio:

   It's amazing, this is a new beginning, a dream come true for the 11.2 million Cubans in Cuba, and I think it will provoke a change of mentality here too in this community.

4. Sean Spicer:

   I think the one thing that people forget is that at the end of the day, our failure to comply with NAFTA is going to result in the loss of more jobs here in America, there are consequences for this kind of action, and they tend to build upon each other and provoke more responses. Is that really the kind of path we want to go down?

5. State Department spokesman Mark Toner:

   China has also noted that the US and South Korea are holding large-scale military exercises targeting North Korea, under current circumstances, all relevant sides should exercise restraint, and avoid actions that would provoke each other and escalate tensions.