Sample sentences for PROVOKE - verbalworkout.com

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Definition

to cause a reaction — typically an emotional reaction such as anger; and sometimes caused intentionally

provoked = caused — typically an emotional reaction such as anger

provoke = cause

Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple.
I can't see two slaps in the face provoking him into committing murder.
Reginald Rose -- Twelve Angry Men

provoking = making (him take action)

So I began to purposefully irritate her, hoping I could provoke her enough that she would end my misery.
Dave Pelzer -- A Child Called It

provoke = get her angry

'It's VERY provoking,' Humpty Dumpty said after a long silence, looking away from Alice as he spoke, 'to be called an egg—VERY!'
Lewis Carroll -- Through the Looking-Glass

provoking = irritating (causing an angry reaction)

What three things does drink especially provoke?
William Shakespeare -- Macbeth

provoke = cause in reaction

On my part, I went to much trouble, sometimes, not to provoke her.
Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird

provoke = cause anger from

she has provoked me when I could not bear it;
Emily Bronte -- Wuthering Heights

provoked = angered

it was very provoking to find that...
Lewis Carroll -- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

provoking = causing an emotional reaction

We fell silent, listening for agitation in the nursing station—the sort of agitation an escape provokes.
Susanna Kaysen -- Girl Interrupted

provokes = causes to happen

provoked = incited (deliberately encouraged an emotional reaction)

provoked = incited (to cause a reaction)

He said that my sister was not allowed to see the boy who hit her anymore, and he was going to have a talk with the boy's parents tonight. My sister then said that it was all her fault, that she was provoking him, but my dad said it was no excuse.
Stephen Chbosky -- The Perks of Being a Wallflower

provoking = making (him) so angry he would react

She had trusted Jem for years, but that night she invaded his privacy and provoked an outburst: "Can't anybody take a bath in this house without the whole family lookin'?"
Harper Lee -- To Kill a Mockingbird

provoked = caused (an angry reaction)

To disobey these laws and so provoke
The wrath of Heaven.
Sophocles -- Antigone

provoke = to cause a reaction

Gregor remained all this time on the floor, largely because he feared his father might see it as especially provoking if he fled onto the wall or ceiling.
Franz Kafka -- Metamorphosis

provoking = upsetting (causing an emotional reaction such as anger)

provoked = caused a reaction from

A little girl was driving home her cow, a plodding, dilatory, provoking creature in her behavior, but a valued companion for all that.
Sarah Jewett -- A White Heron

provoking = tending to cause a reaction — typically an emotional reaction such as anger

pronounced enough to constantly irritate and provoke study
Charlotte Perkins Gilman -- The Yellow Wallpaper

provoke = cause (in reaction)

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