English verb: provoke | |||
1. | provoke (emotion) call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses) | ||
Samples | Arouse pity. Raise a smile. Evoke sympathy. | ||
Synonyms | arouse, elicit, enkindle, evoke, fire, kindle, raise | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | create, make | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | anger, ask for, bruise, discomfit, discompose, disconcert, draw, excite, excite, fire up, heat, hurt, ignite, infatuate, inflame, injure, interest, invite, offend, overcome, overpower, overtake, overwhelm, prick, rekindle, shake, shake up, shame, spite, stimulate, stir, stir up, strike a chord, sweep over, touch a chord, untune, upset, wake, whelm, wound | ||
2. | provoke (creation) evoke or provoke to appear or occur | ||
Samples | Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple. | ||
Synonyms | call forth, evoke, kick up | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s something. Something ----s something | ||
Broader (hypernym) | cause, do, make | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | pick | ||
Verb group | arouse, bring up, call down, call forth, conjure, conjure up, evoke, invoke, put forward, raise, stir | ||
3. | provoke (communication) provide the needed stimulus for | ||
Examples | They provoke him to write the letter | ||
Synonyms | stimulate | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s somebody. Something ----s somebody. Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE | ||
Broader (hypernym) | challenge | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | agitate, entice, foment, incite, instigate, jog, lure, rejuvenate, set off, stir up, stir up, tempt | ||
4. | provoke (emotion) annoy continually or chronically | ||
Samples | He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked. This man harasses his female co-workers. | ||
Examples | The performance is likely to provoke Sue | ||
Synonyms | beset, chevvy, chevy, chivvy, chivy, harass, harry, hassle, molest, plague | ||
Pattern of use | Somebody ----s somebody. Something ----s somebody | ||
Broader (hypernym) | annoy, bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, irritate, nark, nettle, rag, rile, vex | ||
Narrower (hyponym) | bedevil, crucify, dun, frustrate, goad, haze, needle, rag, torment | ||