verb
stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one) in someone.
"the decision provoked a storm of protest from civil rights organizations"synonyms: arouse, produce, evoke, cause, give rise to, occasion, call forth, draw forth, elicit, induce, inspire, excite, spark off, touch off, kindle, generate, engender, instigate, result in, lead to, bring on, contribute to, make for, foster, promote, breed, precipitate, prompt, trigger; More antonyms: allay
stimulate or incite (someone) to do or feel something, especially by arousing anger in them.
"a teacher can provoke you into working harder"synonyms: goad, spur, prick, sting, prod, egg on, hound, badger, incite, rouse, stir, move, stimulate, motivate, excite, inflame, work/fire up, impel, pressure, pressurize, prompt, induce, encourage, urge, inspire
"he might be provoked into making remarks he'd regret"
deliberately make (someone) annoyed or angry.
"Rachel refused to be provoked"synonyms: annoy, make angry, anger, incense, enrage, send into a rage, irritate, infuriate, exasperate, exacerbate, madden, pique, nettle, get/take a rise out of, bother, upset, agitate, vex, irk, gall, get/put someone's back up, get on someone's nerves, ruffle, ruffle someone's feathers, make someone's hackles rise, raise someone's hackles, make someone's blood boil, rub up the wrong way, put someone out; More
