provoked 1 of 2

adjective

as in aggravated

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provoked

2 of 2

verb

past tense of provoke
1
as in encouraged
to rouse to strong feeling or action his teasing finally provoked her to anger bees generally will not sting unless they are provoked

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2
as in triggered
to bring (something volatile or intense) into being rankings that are sure to provoke an argument among film buffs

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 provoked
Verb
North Korea denied responsibility for the explosions and warned of strong retaliation if provoked. — ABC News, 21 Oct. 2026 French’s post provoked social media responses calling for violence against Indians and desecrating Hindu temples. — Arun Brahmbhatt, The Conversation, 21 Oct. 2026 The Ferrari Luce provoked its own backlash and a storm of online jokes. — Matthew Lynn, Washington Post, 19 Oct. 2026 Sectarian violence made religious mobilization increasingly unattractive, while foreign occupation provoked an awareness of Iraqi nationhood. — Mansoor Moaddel, Foreign Affairs, 15 Oct. 2026 Even in a country with one of the highest murder rates in the world, the scale of the killings in such a short space of time has provoked shock. — Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026 Ayer came on board the film after reading Cameron Alexander’s script, which provoked such a strong emotional response that the director couldn’t resist taking the material on. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 25 Sep. 2026 Prosecutors said Anthony provoked the confrontation that ended with Metcalf being fatally stabbed in the chest. — James Cirrone, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026 One study, led by Mark Robinson of Intuitive Machines, describes the crater itself and the enormous amount of material thrown across the lunar surface due to the impact that provoked the feature. — Samantha Mathewson, Space.com, 17 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provoked
  1. aggravated
  2. encouraged
  3. triggered
  4. frustrated
  5. stimulated
  6. raised
  7. tortured
  8. stirred
Adjective
  • Thompson is being held in Escambia County awaiting extradition to Georgia on charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The court accepted his plea and found Williams guilty of two counts of aggravated endangering a child, according to a news release from the office of the Leavenworth County Attorney.
    — Laura Bauer, Kansas City Star, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of aggravated
Verb
  • Alison Linder, assistant sustainability coordinator at Occidental College, which has a thrift store of its own with Halloween costumes in stock, encouraged people to organize their own swaps with neighbors, friends or school classmates.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • But Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has repeatedly dismissed previous caution of AI tools and encouraged rapid autonomous innovation at the Pentagon.
    — Chiara Eisner, NPR, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of encouraged
Verb
  • This action would have triggered a kilonova while also liberating a lot of material, stuff that would take its time falling onto the black hole and fueling longer jets.
    — Robin George Andrews, Scientific American, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Goldman estimated that active funds benchmarked to MSCI and FTSE indexes hold more than $8 billion in Indonesian equities, although any selling by these investors would be discretionary rather than automatically triggered by a downgrade.
    — Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of triggered
Adjective
  • During a conversation in June, 1985, Darman seemed tired and frustrated.
    — Bob Woodward, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • That was fine in the past, when frustrated boosters would often pony up the cash needed to make a mid-contract move.
    — Eben Novy-Williams, Sportico.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of frustrated
Verb
  • The move stimulated the private sector and accelerated the deployment of EV infrastructure, Vesser said.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Issagholyan built out a 24-session plan to course-correct, involving twice weekly visits in which I would be chiropractically adjusted, my jaw cold-lasered to promote cellular regeneration and my back muscles stimulated by electrodes.
    — Alessandra Codinha, Vogue, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of stimulated
Verb
  • Violent protests across France have raised pressure on the government to increase spending, which could add further to its debt.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 23 Oct. 2026
  • The Cognition investment was part of the startup’s Series E funding round in September, which raised more than $2 billion at a $48 billion valuation.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of raised
Adjective
  • Our tortured contemporary education is a logical outgrowth of its origin story.
    — Kamau Bobb October 21, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Earlier works tinging with an obscure kind of darkness that hinted at tortured psychological states have all but disappeared from her work and living quarters in lieu of an elegant old world charm.
    — Francesca Aton, ARTnews.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of tortured
Verb
  • The dip can also be mixed with tuna or chicken, used as a burger topping or stirred into egg yolks for a quick egg salad.
    — Beret Leone, CBS News, 20 Oct. 2026
  • The combination of slow growth, high inflation, profligate spending, and soaring debt has stirred a revolt in financial markets.
    — Jason Ma, Fortune, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of stirred

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Cite this Entry

“Provoked.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provoked. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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