unprovoked

adjective un·pro·voked \ ˌən-prə-ˈvōkt \

Updated on: 16 May 2018

Definition of unprovoked

: occurring without any identifiable cause or justification : not provoked

an unprovoked assault/attack

unprovoked anger

Recent Examples of unprovoked from the Web

He and the other teenagers who testified Tuesday described what started as an unprovoked prank: The 15-year-old and some friends were spraying people with a foul-smelling spray.

— gal tziperman lotan, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Teens testify about prank that led to fight, Winter Park High student Roger Trindade's death," 1 May 2018
Police said the two men did not know each other, and the motive for what appeared to be an unprovoked attack is under investigation.

— kristine phillips, Washington Post, "As his daughter sat on his lap, a father was fatally stabbed by a homeless stranger, police said," 21 Apr. 2018
Russia has insisted that the attacks didn’t happen, and on Saturday sought to condemn the airstrikes as an unprovoked attack on a sovereign country in violation of international law and the U.N. charter.

— farnaz fassihi, WSJ, "U.N. Security Council Rejects Resolution Condemning U.S.-Led Airstrikes in Syria," 14 Apr. 2018
Dedrew previously was convicted of stabbing two women in an unprovoked attack in 2006.

— ashley luthern, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Milwaukee man charged in near-fatal knife attack outside Columbia St. Mary's Hospital," 8 Apr. 2018
According to the report, the men reported unprovoked beatings, including of a man who was handcuffed, and one man reported being groped by a guard.

— jason buch, San Antonio Express-News, "Report: Detainees at Texas detention center beaten, pepper-sprayed," 22 Mar. 2018
To the surprise of probably no one, men are the only people who feel entitled enough to give unprovoked feedback on my brows (and only on dating apps, the idiots).

— rachel nussbaum, Glamour, "I Had an Eyebrow Transplant 4 Years Ago, and I'll Never Touch Them Again," 22 Mar. 2018
North Carolina had one unprovoked shark attack last year, the data showed.

— mark price, charlotteobserver, "Just in time for Spring Break, experts say more sharks are wintering off Carolinas | Charlotte Observer," 13 Mar. 2018
Russian military contractors were among those killed in a rare U.S. airstrike in Syria last month, which was launched in response to what the U.S. called an unprovoked attack by pro-Syrian-regime forces.

— thomas grove, WSJ, "Russian Transport Plane Crashes in Syria, Killing 32," 6 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'unprovoked.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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