Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb provoke
4 senses of provoke
Sense 1
arouse, elicit, enkindle, kindle, evoke, fire, raise, provoke -- (call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses); "arouse pity"; "raise a smile"; "evoke sympathy")
=> make, create -- (make or cause to be or to become; "make a mess in one's office"; "create a furor")
Sense 2
provoke, evoke, call forth, kick up -- (evoke or provoke to appear or occur; "Her behavior provoked a quarrel between the couple")
=> cause, do, make -- (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally; "cause a commotion"; "make a stir"; "cause an accident")
Sense 3
provoke, stimulate -- (provide the needed stimulus for)
=> challenge -- (issue a challenge to; "Fischer challenged Spassky to a match")
Sense 4
harass, hassle, harry, chivy, chivvy, chevy, chevvy, beset, plague, molest, provoke -- (annoy continually or chronically; "He is known to harry his staff when he is overworked"; "This man harasses his female co-workers")
=> annoy, rag, get to, bother, get at, irritate, rile, nark, nettle, gravel, vex, chafe, devil -- (cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations; "Mosquitoes buzzing in my ear really bothers me"; "It irritates me that she never closes the door after she leaves")
Antonyms of adj provoked
1 sense of provoked
Sense 1
aggravated, provoked -- (incited, especially deliberately, to anger; "aggravated by passive resistance"; "the provoked animal attacked the child")
INDIRECT (VIA angry) -> unangry -- (not angry)
Similarity of adj provoked
1 sense of provoked
Sense 1
aggravated, provoked -- (incited, especially deliberately, to anger; "aggravated by passive resistance"; "the provoked animal attacked the child")
=> angry (vs. unangry) -- (feeling or showing anger; "angry at the weather"; "angry customers"; "an angry silence"; "sending angry letters to the papers")