provocatively

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 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 the film itself offers few signs of the times—other than the epic collapse of that year’s New York Mets in the playoff race, which is rudely shown in the background.
    David Sims, The Atlantic, 29 Aug. 2025
  • Swift is not the kind of girl to rudely barge in on a white veil occasion.
    Daniela Avila, People.com, 27 Aug. 2025
Adverb
  • The director’s approach is coolly distant and underpowered; even scenes of bloody battle in the ring feel merely informational.
    Vince Aletti, New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2025
  • After Rodrigo De Paul was clipped inside the 18-yard box for a penalty, Suarez stepped up to coolly convert from the spot with a low effort to the left.
    Franco Panizo, Miami Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
Adverb
  • As if the question arose, thought Leonora scornfully.
    Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 15 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Provocatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provocatively. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.

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