as in rudely
Related Words
Relevance
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of provocatively
In ’50s England, her professional academic lesbian shows up in a provocatively sexy outfit with a gauzy bodice.
—
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2025
His decimal-point scores were provocatively precise, calculated to start fights.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
So far Kremlin commissars have threatened to wage war against two nations—Germany and South Africa—to stave off Putin’s detention, and have even provocatively warned that the headquarters of the ICC, in the Dutch city The Hague, could be blasted by Moscow’s missiles.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Anne Thompson, IndieWire, 22 Oct. 2025
His decimal-point scores were provocatively precise, calculated to start fights.
—Kelefa Sanneh, New Yorker, 25 Aug. 2025
So far Kremlin commissars have threatened to wage war against two nations—Germany and South Africa—to stave off Putin’s detention, and have even provocatively warned that the headquarters of the ICC, in the Dutch city The Hague, could be blasted by Moscow’s missiles.
—Kevin Holden Platt, Forbes.com, 7 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provocatively
Adverb
-
But there’s a big difference between knowing that a relative is a pill and loving them through it and being rudely insulted by a relative and just sucking it up.—
Eric Thomas,
Baltimore Sun,
5 Jan. 2026
-
For instance, the Alfie who was very serious about Mindy one night before would not suddenly bail because her ex — whom Mindy blocked everywhere — rudely accosted her at her job.—
Jessica M. Goldstein,
Vulture,
18 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
The Rodents of Unusual Size that attack Westley in a swamp work because they are played by small men in rodent suits, rather than coolly conjured from pixels; their deliberate artifice is the thrill, and Reiner provided the voice for their hideous snorts.—
Alexandra Schwartz,
New Yorker,
17 Dec. 2025
-
Also bent on finding the stone are sadistic rebel commander Captain Poison (David Harewood, oozing evil) and the coolly calculating Colonel (Arnold Vosloo), Danny’s one-time mentor as a soldier-for-hire.—
Sheri Linden,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
As if the question arose, thought Leonora scornfully.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
Where is my rice-bartering Angelina Keeley, my coldly strategic Genevieve Mushaluk, my financial analyst Emily Flippen, or my real-life Buffalo Bills fan Kyle?—
Joe Reid,
Vulture,
19 Dec. 2025
-
His cabinet, meanwhile, conspires to remove their own children from any ballot, before coldly decreeing that kids from the worst performing schools should be sent away with the 456.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
5 Dec. 2025
Adverb
-
The camera then switches from the chaos of the puppy, to the kitten—who is sitting in a relaxed position, blinking slowly, and staring almost disdainfully at the wriggling puppy.—
Rachael O'Connor,
MSNBC Newsweek,
21 Oct. 2025
-
Bella, in her podcast conversation with Trinny Woodall, recalled that once, at a village post office, a shop assistant disdainfully called her a hippie.—
Rebecca Mead,
New Yorker,
8 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
So, yes, headlights are brighter and sometimes obnoxiously so.—
Doug Turnbull,
AJC.com,
4 Jan. 2026
-
The basic premise was a really loud squad of radio VJs obnoxiously reacting to a weather chopper crash.—
Jillian Sederholm,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Provocatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provocatively. Accessed 9 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share