v. t. | 1. | To call forth; to call into being or action; esp., to incense to action, a faculty or passion, as love, hate, or ambition; hence, commonly, to incite, as a person, to action by a challenge, by taunts, or by defiance; to exasperate; to irritate; to offend intolerably; to cause to retaliate. |
v. i. | 1. | To cause provocation or anger. |
2. | To appeal. |
Verb | 1. | provoke - call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy" |
2. | provoke - call forth; "Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple" | |
3. | provoke - provide the needed stimulus for Synonyms: stimulate | |
4. | provoke - annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers" |