Both Uses
provoke
in
The Trial of Socrates, by Linder
(Auto-generated)
- Often his unpopular views, expressed disdainfully and with an air of condescension, provoked his listeners to anger.†
*provoked = caused (a reaction)
- If the accounts of Plato and Xenophon are reasonably accurate, Socrates sought not to persuade jurors, but rather to lecture and provoke them.†
provoke = cause (a reaction)
Definitions:
-
(1)
(provoke) to cause a reaction — often an emotional reaction like anger, and sometimes done on purpose
- (2) (meaning too rare to warrant focus)