unprovoked
adjective
un·pro·voked
ˌən-prə-ˈvōkt 
: occurring without any identifiable cause or justification : not provoked
an unprovoked assault/attack
unprovoked anger
Examples of unprovoked in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed in North Carolina in an unprovoked attack on a light rail train in August, doesn’t have any apparent connection to North Center — or even Chicago.
—
Madeline King, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
This was the Hernandez case, which is about whether a Border Patrol agent could be held liable for the allegedly unprovoked cross-border shooting of a fifteen-year-old Mexican national.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Like dingoes, sharks rarely attack humans unprovoked, with Australia recording an average of 20 injury-causing shark incidents a year and fewer than three annual deaths, according to the Australian Shark Attack File, far fewer than the number of people who die from drowning and road accidents.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
Residents said Israeli forces fired stun grenades and tear gas in an unprovoked attack.
—Toqa Ezzidin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2026
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Madeline King, Chicago Tribune, 5 Feb. 2026
This was the Hernandez case, which is about whether a Border Patrol agent could be held liable for the allegedly unprovoked cross-border shooting of a fifteen-year-old Mexican national.
—Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 26 Jan. 2026
Like dingoes, sharks rarely attack humans unprovoked, with Australia recording an average of 20 injury-causing shark incidents a year and fewer than three annual deaths, according to the Australian Shark Attack File, far fewer than the number of people who die from drowning and road accidents.
—Jennifer Jett, NBC news, 20 Jan. 2026
Residents said Israeli forces fired stun grenades and tear gas in an unprovoked attack.
—Toqa Ezzidin, Los Angeles Times, 17 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for unprovoked
Cite this Entry
“Unprovoked.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/unprovoked. Accessed 16 Feb. 2026.
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