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provoke

pro·voke

provoke

 
 
pronunciation:
pr vok
features:
Word Explorer, Word Parts
part of speech: verb
inflections: provokes, provoking, provoked
definition: When you provoke someone, you start them up in some way. You get them angry or excited, or you suddenly get them to start doing something.
We're not sure what provoked our dog to bark. Maybe he saw a squirrel outside.My mom said my grandfather needed to rest and we shouldn't provoke him.
synonyms:
anger, excite
antonyms:
calm
similar words:
fire up, motivate, needle, prompt
derivations: provokingly (adv.), provoker (n.)
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  anger, behavior, emotion
Word Parts  About this feature
The word provoke contains the following parts:
voc, -voke Latin root that means voice, to call