Printer Friendly
Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary
1,726,339,824 visitors served.
forum mailing list For webmasters
?
New: Language forums
Dictionary/
thesaurus
Medical
dictionary
Legal
dictionary
Financial
dictionary
Acronyms
 
Idioms
Encyclopedia
Wikipedia
encyclopedia
?

provoke
(redirected from provokes)

   Also found in: Legal, Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
pro·voke  (pr-vk)
tr.v. pro·voked, pro·vok·ing, pro·vokes
1. To incite to anger or resentment.
2. To stir to action or feeling.
3. To give rise to; evoke: provoke laughter.
4. To bring about deliberately; induce: provoke a fight.

[Middle English provoken, from Old French provoquer, from Latin prvocre, to challenge : pr-, forth; see pro-1 + vocre, to call; see wekw- in Indo-European roots.]
Synonyms: provoke, incite, excite, stimulate, arouse, rouse, stir1
These verbs mean to move a person to action or feeling or to summon something into being by so moving a person. Provoke often merely states the consequences produced: "Let my presumption not provoke thy wrath" (Shakespeare). "A situation which in the country would have provoked meetings" (John Galsworthy).
To incite is to provoke and urge on: Members of the opposition incited the insurrection.
Excite implies a strong or emotional reaction: The movie will fail; the plot excites little interest or curiosity.
Stimulate suggests renewed vigor of action as if by spurring or goading: "Our vigilance was stimulated by our finding traces of a large ... encampment" (Francis Parkman).
To arouse means to awaken, as from inactivity or apathy; rouse means the same, but more strongly implies vigorous or emotional excitement: "In a democratic society like ours, relief must come through an aroused popular conscience that sears the conscience of the people's representatives" (Felix Frankfurter). "The oceangoing steamers ... roused in him wild and painful longings" (Arnold Bennett).
To stir is to cause activity, strong but usually agreeable feelings, trouble, or commotion: "It was him as stirred up th' young woman to preach last night" (George Eliot). "I have seldom been so ... stirred by any piece of writing" (Mark Twain). See Also Synonyms at annoy.

provoke [prəˈvəʊk]
vb (tr)
1. to anger or infuriate
2. to cause to act or behave in a certain manner; incite or stimulate
3. to promote (certain feelings, esp anger, indignation, etc.) in a person
4. Obsolete to summon
[from Latin prōvocāre to call forth, from vocāre to call]
provoking  adj
provokingly  adv
ThesaurusLegend:  Synonyms Related Words Antonyms
Verb1.provoke - call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy"
create, make - make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor"
touch a chord, strike a chord - evoke a reaction, response, or emotion; "this writer strikes a chord with young women"; "The storyteller touched a chord"
ask for, invite - increase the likelihood of; "ask for trouble"; "invite criticism"
draw - elicit responses, such as objections, criticism, applause, etc.; "The President's comments drew sharp criticism from the Republicans"; "The comedian drew a lot of laughter"
rekindle - arouse again; "rekindle hopes"; "rekindle her love"
infatuate - arouse unreasoning love or passion in and cause to behave in an irrational way; "His new car has infatuated him"; "love has infatuated her"
prick - to cause a sharp emotional pain; "The thought of her unhappiness pricked his conscience"
fire up, stir up, wake, heat, ignite, inflame - arouse or excite feelings and passions; "The ostentatious way of living of the rich ignites the hatred of the poor"; "The refugees' fate stirred up compassion around the world"; "Wake old feelings of hatred"
stimulate, stir, shake up, excite, shake - stir the feelings, emotions, or peace of; "These stories shook the community"; "the civil war shook the country"
excite - arouse or elicit a feeling
anger - make angry; "The news angered him"
discomfit, discompose, untune, upset, disconcert - cause to lose one's composure
shame - cause to be ashamed
spite, wound, bruise, injure, offend, hurt - hurt the feelings of; "She hurt me when she did not include me among her guests"; "This remark really bruised my ego"
overwhelm, sweep over, whelm, overpower, overtake, overcome - overcome, as with emotions or perceptual stimuli
interest - excite the curiosity of; engage the interest of
2.provoke - evoke or provoke to appear or occur; "Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple"
bring up, call down, conjure, conjure up, invoke, call forth, put forward, arouse, evoke, stir, raise - summon into action or bring into existence, often as if by magic; "raise the specter of unemployment"; "he conjured wild birds in the air"; "call down the spirits from the mountain"
cause, do, make - give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally; "cause a commotion"; "make a stir"; "cause an accident"
pick - provoke; "pick a fight or a quarrel"
3.provoke - provide the needed stimulus for
entice, lure, tempt - provoke someone to do something through (often false or exaggerated) promises or persuasion; "He lured me into temptation"
rejuvenate - cause (a stream or river) to erode, as by an uplift of the land
jog - stimulate to remember; "jog my memory"
instigate, incite, stir up, set off - provoke or stir up; "incite a riot"; "set off great unrest among the people"
challenge - issue a challenge to; "Fischer challenged Spassky to a match"
agitate, foment, stir up - try to stir up public opinion
4.provoke - annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers"
needle, goad - goad or provoke,as by constant criticism; "He needled her with his sarcastic remarks"
annoy, devil, gravel, irritate, nark, rile, vex, nettle, rag, bother, chafe, get at, get to - cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves"
bedevil, dun, rag, torment, frustrate, crucify - treat cruelly; "The children tormented the stuttering teacher"
haze - harass by imposing humiliating or painful tasks, as in military institutions

provoke
verb
1. anger, insult, annoy, offend, irritate, infuriate, hassle (informal), aggravate (informal), incense, enrage, gall, put someone out, madden, exasperate, vex, affront, chafe, irk, rile, pique, get on someone's nerves (informal), get someone's back up, piss someone off (taboo slang), put someone's back up, try someone's patience, nark (Brit., Austral., & N.Z. slang), make someone's blood boil, get in someone's hair (informal), rub someone up the wrong way (informal), take a rise out of I didn't want to do anything to provoke him.
anger calm, appease, placate, quiet, soothe, sweeten, pacify, mollify, conciliate, propitiate
2. rouse, cause, produce, lead to, move, fire, promote, occasion, excite, inspire, generate, prompt, stir, stimulate, motivate, induce, bring about, evoke, give rise to, precipitate, elicit, inflame, incite, instigate, kindle, foment, call forth, draw forth, bring on or down His comments have provoked a shocked reaction.
rouse ease, relieve, moderate, modify, temper, curb, blunt, lessen, lull, allay, mitigate, abate, assuage
Quotations
"No-one provokes me with impunity (Nemo me impune lacessit)" Motto of the Crown of Scotland and of all Scottish regiments
Translations
provoke [prəˈvəʊk] VT
1. (= cause) [+ reaction, response] → provocar; [+ violence] → provocar, causar; [+ crisis] → causar
2. (= rouse, move) → incitar, mover (to a) it provoked us to actionnos incitó a obrar
it provoked the town to revoltincitó la ciudad a sublevarse
to provoke sb into doing sthincitar a algn a hacer algo
3. (= anger) → provocar, irritar
he is easily provokedse irrita por cualquier cosa, se le provoca fácilmente

provoke [prəˈvəʊk] vt
(= annoy) [+ person] → provoquer
They are armed and ready to shoot if provoked → Ils sont armés et prêts à tirer si on les provoque.
to provoke each other → se provoquer
to provoke sb into doing sth → pousser qn à faire qch
(= cause, give rise to) [+ reaction, criticism, anger] → provoquer

provoke
vt sbprovozieren, reizen, herausfordern; animalreizen; reaction, anger, criticism, dismay, smilehervorrufen; lust, pityerwecken, erregen; reply, disputeprovozieren; discussion, revolt, showdownherbeiführen, auslösen; to provoke a quarrel or an argument (person) → Streit suchen; (action) → zu einem Streit führen; to provoke somebody into doing something or to do somethingjdn dazu bringen, dass er etw tut; (= taunt)jdn dazu treiben or so provozieren, dass er etw tut

provoke [prəˈvəʊk] vt (gen) → provocare, incitare
to provoke sb to sth/to do or into doing sth → spingere qn a qc/a fare qc
provoke [prəˈvəʊk] vt (gen) → provocare, incitare
to provoke sb to sth/to do or into doing sth → spingere qn a qc/a fare qc

provoke
v provoke [prəˈvəuk]
1 to make angry or irritated Are you trying to provoke me? uitlok, tart يُثير، يَستَفِز предизвиквам provokovat provokere verärgern προκαλώ, ερεθίζω κπ. provocar provotseerima عصبانی کردن ärsyttää provoquer לְהַרגִיז क्रुद्ध करना, उत्तेजित करना bosszant memancing kemarahan ergja provocare 怒らせる 성나게 하다 (su)pykdyti, (su)erzinti []provocēt; kaitināt membangkitkan kemarahan uitdagen provosere, utfordre sprowokować provocar a pro­­voca сердить, раздражать provokovať razdražiti provocirati reta upp ยั่วยุอารมณ์ kızdırmak, öfkelendirmek 激怒,挑舋 сердити, роздратовувати بھڑکانا، اشتعال دلانا chọc tức; khiêu khích
2 to cause His words provoked laughter. veroorsaak يُسَبِّب подтиквам vzbudit fremkalde hervorrufen προξενώ provocar esile kutsuma موجب شدن herättää provoquer לְעוֹרֵר उत्पन्न करना, कारण होना okoz menyebabkan valda provocare 引き起こす (웃음 등을) 자아내다 sukelti izraisīt, izsaukt menimbulkan veroorzaken utløse, vekke wywołać provocar a provoca вызывать vyvolať izzvati izazvati framkalla เป็นเหตุให้ neden olmak, yol açmak 引起 викликати باعث ہونا gây ra
3 to cause (a person etc) to react in an angry way He was provoked into hitting her. uitlok يَسْتَفِز провокирам rozzlobit provokere provozieren προκαλώ provocar ässitama تحریک کردن provosoida provoquer לְגָרוֹת आकर्षित करने की कोशिश करना, प्रदर्शित करना provokál membangkitkan kemarahan espa provocare 刺激する (~하도록) 자극하다 išprovokuoti []provocēt; izaicināt memberangsangkan zo kwaad maken dat provosere, terge prowokować provocar a pro­voca провоцировать rozhnevať izzvati isprovocirati provocera ทำให้โกรธ kışkırtmak, tahrik etmek 迫使(某人做出憤怒反應) провокувати اشتعال دلانا khiến 使
n provocation [provəˈkeiʃən]
the act of provoking or state of being provoked. uitlokking, tarting إثارَه، إسْتِفْزاز провокация provokace provokation die Provokation πρόκληση provocación provokatsioon تحریک provokaatio provocation לְהִתגָרוֹת छेड़खानी, छेड़छाड़, उत्तेजन provokáció provokasi ögrun provocazione 刺激 분개, 자극, 도발 provokacija provokācija; izaicinājums provokasi provocatie provokasjon prowokacja provocação provocare провокация; раздражение provokácia izzivanje provokacija provokation การยั่วยุอารมณ์ kışkırtma, öfkelendirme 挑舋,激怒 підбурювання; провокація اشتعال sự khiêu khích
adj proˈvocative [-ˈvokətiv]
likely to rouse feeling, especially anger or sexual interest provocative remarks; a provocative dress. uitlokkend, tartend مُثير، مُهَيِّج провокативен vyzývavý provokerende aufreizend προκλητικός provocador; (sexual) provocativo provokatiivne تحریک آمیز kiihottava provocant, provocateur פְּרוֹבוֹקָטִיבִי उत्तेजक, प्रेरक, उद्दीपक kihívó provokatif ögrandi, æsandi provocatorio; provocante 刺激的な 도발적인 provokacinis, provokuojantis, gundantis provokatorisks; izaicinošs bersikap provokatif uitdagend opphissende, pirrende prowokujący provocante provo­cator вызывающий vyzývavý izzivalen provokativan provokativ, utmanande กวนโทสะ kışkırtıcı, tahrik edici 挑舋的,激發的 провокаційний اشتعال انگيز، ہيجان خيز khiêu khích
adv proˈvocatively
uitlokkend, tartend بِصورَةٍ إسْتِفْزازيَّه провокативно dráždivě provokerende provozierend προκλητικά provocativamente provokatiivselt بطور تحریک آمیز kiihottavasti d'une manière provocante/provocatrice בְּאוֹפֶן פְּרוֹבוֹקָטִיבִי उत्तेजकता से, प्रेरकता से kihívóan secara provokatif á ögrandi hátt in maniera provocatoria/provocante 挑発的に 도발적으로 provokatoriškai provokatoriski; izaicinoši provokatif uitdagend provoserende, opphissende, utfordrende prowokująco provocantemente (în mod) provocator вызывающе provokatívne izzivalno provokativno provokativt, utmanande อย่างยั่วโมโห kışkırtarak, tahrik ederek 挑舋地 провокаційно اشتعال انگيزي سے một cách khiêu khích


How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content.
?Page tools
Printer friendly
Cite / link
Email
Feedback
Add definition
? Mentioned in
 
Dictionary/thesaurus browser? ? Full browser
 
 
Dictionary, Thesaurus, and Translations
?

Disclaimer | Privacy policy | Feedback | Copyright © 2009 Farlex, Inc.
All content on this website, including dictionary, thesaurus, literature, geography, and other reference data is for informational purposes only. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. Terms of Use.