Meaning of provoke in English

Table of contents

Verb
provoke
Etymology
late Middle English (also in the sense ‘invoke, summon’): from Old French provoquer, from Latin provocare‘challenge’, from pro-‘forth’ + vocare‘to call’
Definitions
1. call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
Examples
- « arouse pity »
- « raise a smile »
- « evoke sympathy »
Derived terms
2. call forth
Examples
- « Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple »
Derived terms
3. provide the needed stimulus for
Derived terms
4. annoy continually or chronically
Examples
- « He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked »
- « This man harasses his female co-workers »
Derived terms

Famous quotes

« You've got to honor your relationship with your audience - that they sit down because they want to be entertained. And that doesn't mean you can't provoke them and antagonize them and challenge them in the course of the entertainment as long as you keep the entertainment part of the equation alive. »
David E. Kelley
« To provoke dreams of terror in the slumber of prosperity has become the moral duty of literature. »
Ernst Fischer
« I am sorry to think that you do not get a man's most effective criticism until you provoke him. Severe truth is expressed with some bitterness. »
Henry David Thoreau
« The best films of any kind, narrative or documentary, provoke questions. »
Edward Norton
« 'Funny Games' was conceived as a provocation. My other films are different. If people feel my other films are, or respond to them as provocation, then that's quite different. 'Funny Games' is the only one of mine where my intention was to provoke the audience. »
Michael Haneke