as in rudely
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Recent Examples of provocatively
Holzinger’s artistic commitments are provocatively on view in SEAWORLD VENICE, a performance installation for the Austrian pavilion at the 2026 Venice Biennale.
—
Caroline Lillian Schopp, Artforum, 13 May 2026
Rebuilding that story around its female lead could have made for a provocatively modern interpretation.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
For this reason, consciousness studies, Pollan provocatively suggests, may prompt the first scientific revolution in nearly 500 years.
—Shelby Hartman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Most provocatively, Musk revealed that the company’s factory in Fremont, California, would be transformed into a production facility for Optimus, an abrupt end to well over a decade of automotive manufacturing at the facility.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026
Is there a benefit in living that long, Green provocatively asks.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
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
Caroline Lillian Schopp, Artforum, 13 May 2026
Rebuilding that story around its female lead could have made for a provocatively modern interpretation.
—David Sims, The Atlantic, 6 Mar. 2026
For this reason, consciousness studies, Pollan provocatively suggests, may prompt the first scientific revolution in nearly 500 years.
—Shelby Hartman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Feb. 2026
Most provocatively, Musk revealed that the company’s factory in Fremont, California, would be transformed into a production facility for Optimus, an abrupt end to well over a decade of automotive manufacturing at the facility.
—Victor Tangermann, Futurism, 29 Jan. 2026
Is there a benefit in living that long, Green provocatively asks.
—Peter Debruge, Variety, 23 Jan. 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provocatively
Adverb
-
In another famous tale, Hoja arrives at a feast wearing old and ragged clothes and is treated rudely.—
Perin Gürel,
The Conversation,
22 Apr. 2026
-
Unfortunately, the store manager, Yusuf (Boran Kuzum), rudely declines the siblings’ request, saying the necklace isn’t for sale.—
Aramide Tinubu,
Variety,
9 Apr. 2026
Adverb
-
Hazel swung the lamp in her hand and looked contemptuously at Ginny, surrounded by the naturalists and the teachers, who whispered encouragement.—
Yiyun Li,
New Yorker,
1 Mar. 2026
-
Men sneered contemptuously at them, while teenagers used their names as insults.—
Mikhail Zygar,
Vanity Fair,
7 Jan. 2026
Adverb
-
Unlike the coolly impassive Pop artists, the Who weren’t afraid to get personal, or to let their art echo the anxious, kinky, maladjusted yammering in their own heads.—
Jeremy Lybarger,
Artforum,
2 June 2026
-
The bezel round the screen is extremely narrow too, while the rear panel features a flat back and a side structure that coolly creates the impression of being created from a series of separate layers.—
John Archer,
Forbes.com,
27 May 2026
Adverb
-
As if the question arose, thought Leonora scornfully.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 Sep. 2025
Adverb
-
During one particularly strange scene, Eisenhower coldly dismisses a staff member’s request to check on a patient at a nearby hospital.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
26 May 2026
-
Lili Reinhart’s coldly overbearing Apple (with lucious, flaming red hair) is their ringleader, Alexandra Shipp’s Fig is a science genius who lost her personality in a swirl of people pleasing, and Victoria Pedretti’s mentally fragile Cherry is Apple’s resident punching bag and fixer-upper project.—
Jada Yuan,
Vulture,
19 Mar. 2026
Adverb
-
Her patience is tested when Cliff obnoxiously tries to guess the name of her daughter — Dominique?—
Peter Tonguette,
The Washington Examiner,
19 Sep. 2025
-
The exception here would be Mythic Kepler missions which have enemies that are so overly obnoxiously stuffed with health that this double damage may make things actually feel vaguely normal.—
Paul Tassi,
Forbes.com,
20 Aug. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Provocatively.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provocatively. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
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