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provokes - 20 thesaurus results
| Main Entry: | provoke |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make angry |
| Synonyms: | abet, abrade, affront, aggravate, anger, annoy, bother, bug*, chafe, enrage, exasperate, exercise, foment, fret, gall*, get on one's nerves, get under one's skin, get*, grate, hit where one lives, incense, incite, inflame, infuriate, insult, irk, irritate, madden, make blood boil, make waves, nag, offend, perturb, pique, put out, raise, rile, roil, ruffle, set on, set*, try one's patience, upset, vex, whip up*, work into lather, work up* |
| Notes: | provoke means to stir up or arouse - or to incite to anger or resentment; evoke means to call forth or call to mind emotions, feelings, and responses |
| Antonyms: | delight, make happy, please |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | provoke |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | start, evoke; stimulate |
| Synonyms: | animate, arouse, awaken, begin, bestir, bring about, bring down, bring on, bring to one's feet, build up, call forth, cause, challenge, draw forth, electrify, elicit, enthuse, excite, fire, fire up, galvanize, generate, give rise to, incite, induce, inflame, innervate, innerve, inspire, instigate, kindle, lead to, make, motivate, move, occasion, pique, precipitate, prime, produce, promote, prompt, quicken, rally, rouse, roust, stir, suscitate, thrill, titillate, titivate, waken, whet |
| Antonyms: | end, halt, prevent, stop |
| Main Entry: | abet |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | assist, help in wrongdoing |
| Synonyms: | advocate, back, condone, egg on*, encourage, endorse, goad, incite, instigate, prod, promote, provoke, sanction, spur, support, urge |
| Antonyms: | counter, deter, discourage, frustrate, hinder, hurt, impede, obstruct, resist |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | acerbate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | exasperate |
| Synonyms: | aggravate, annoy, disturb, perturb, provoke, rattle one's cage |
| Main Entry: | affront |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | insult or involve in entanglement |
| Synonyms: | abuse, anger, annoy, confront, criticize, displease, encounter, face, give the cold shoulder*, meet, offend, outrage, pique, provoke, put down*, slander, slight, taunt, vex, dispraise, dump on, give a zinger, hit where one lives |
| Antonyms: | appease, assuage, compliment, gratify, mollify, placate, please, satisfy, soothe |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | aggravate |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | annoy |
| Synonyms: | be at, be on the back of, bother, bug, bum*, dog, drive up the wall, exasperate, gall, get, get on one's nerves, get to, give a hard time, grate, hack, irk, irritate, nag, needle, nettle, peeve, pester, pick on, pique, provoke, tease, vex, wig* |
| Antonyms: | appease, gladden, make happy, mollify, soften |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | anger |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make someone mad; become mad |
| Synonyms: | acerbate, affront, aggravate, agitate, annoy, antagonize, arouse, bait, blow up*, boil over*, boil*, bristle, burn, burn up, chafe, craze*, cross, displease, egg on*, embitter, enrage, exacerbate, exasperate, excite, fret, gall, get mad, get on one's nerves, goad, incense, inflame, infuriate, irritate, lose one's temper, madden, make sore, miff, nettle, offend, outrage, pique, provoke, raise hell, rankle, rant, rave, rile, ruffle, seethe, steam up*, stew, stir up, tempt, umbrage, vex |
| Antonyms: | calm, forbear, make happy, quiet, soothe |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | annoy |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | irritate, upset |
| Synonyms: | abrade, agitate, badger, bedevil, beleaguer, bore, bother, break, bug, chafe, displease, distress, disturb, egg on*, exasperate, gall, get, gnaw, harass, harry, henpeck, irk, madden, miff, nag, needle, nettle, nudge, peeve, perturb, pester, plague, provoke, push button, ride, rile, ruffle, tease, trouble, turn off*, vex, worry, T-off, ask for it, be at, be on the back of, burn up, fire up, heat up, hit where one lives, make waves, tick off*, work on |
| Antonyms: | aid, gratify, please, soothe, make happy |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | arouse |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | excite, entice |
| Synonyms: | agitate, alert, animate, awaken, call, challenge, electrify, enliven, foment, foster, goad, incite, inflame, instigate, kindle, move, provoke, rally, rouse, send, spark, spur, stimulate, stir, thrill, turn on, warm, whet, whip up, work up, fire up, heat up, wake up, waken |
| Antonyms: | bore, calm, lull, quiet |
| Main Entry: | awake |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | become or make aware |
| Synonyms: | activate, alert, animate, arouse, awaken, enliven, excite, incite, kindle, provoke, revive, stimulate, vivify, call forth, stir up |
| Antonyms: | deaden, lull |
| Main Entry: | awaken |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make conscious or alert |
| Synonyms: | activate, animate, arouse, awake, call, enliven, excite, fan, incite, kindle, provoke, rally, revive, rise and shine*, rouse, stimulate, turn out*, vivify, wake, pile out*, roll out*, show a leg, stir up |
| Antonyms: | deaden, hypnotize, go to sleep |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | bait |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | needle |
| Synonyms: | anger, annoy, badger, bother, gall, harass, heckle, hound, irk, irritate, nag, persecute, provoke, tease, torment |
| Main Entry: | bother |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | harass, annoy; give trouble |
| Synonyms: | afflict, aggravate, agitate, alarm, badger, bedevil, bore, browbeat, concern, cross, discommode, disconcert, disgust, dismay, displease, disquiet, distress, disturb, eat, embarrass, exacerbate, exasperate, goad, grieve, harry, hinder, hurt, impede, inconvenience, insult, irk, irritate, molest, nag, needle, nudge, pain, perplex, perturb, pester, pick on, plague, provoke, pursue, put out, ride, scare, spite, tantalize, taunt, tease, torment, trouble, upset, vex, worry, carp at, grate on, intrude upon |
| Antonyms: | aid, help, please |
| Main Entry: | bug |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bother, disturb |
| Synonyms: | abrade, annoy, badger, chafe, gall, harass, irk, irritate, needle, nettle, pester, plague, provoke, vex, get on someone |
| Antonyms: | not bother |
| Main Entry: | cause |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | bring into being; bring about |
| Synonyms: | begin, brainstorm*, break in*, break the ice*, breed, bring to pass, come out with*, compel, cook up*, create, dream up*, effect, elicit, engender, evoke, generate, hatch, incite, induce, introduce, kickoff*, kindle, let, make, make up, motivate, muster, occasion, open, originate, precipitate, produce, provoke, revert, secure, work up, be at the bottom of, fire up, get things rolling, give rise to, lead to, result in, sow the seeds, start the ball rolling, think up |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | chafe |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | annoy |
| Synonyms: | abrade, anger, annoy, bother, exasperate, exercise, fret, fume, gall, grate, harass, incense, inflame, irk, irritate, itch, offend, provoke, rage, rasp, rub, ruffle, scrape, scratch, vex, worry |
| Antonyms: | make happy |
| Main Entry: | challenge |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | dispute, question |
| Synonyms: | accost, arouse, assert, beard, brave, call for, claim, confront, cross, dare, defy, demand, denounce, exact, face the music*, impeach, impose, impugn, inquire, investigate, provoke, query, reclaim, require, stimulate, summon, tax, test, throw down the gauntlet*, try, vindicate, ask for, call out, face down, face off, fly in the face of, hang in, insist upon, invite competition, make a point of, make a stand, object to, search out, stand up to, stick it out |
| Antonyms: | agreement, answer, decision, victory |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | dare |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | challenge, defy someone |
| Synonyms: | beard, brave, bully, call one's bluff, confront, cope, denounce, disregard, face, face off, front, goad, insult, knock chip off shoulder, laugh at, make my day, meet, mock, muster courage, oppose, outdare, provoke, resist, run the gauntlet, scorn, spurn, square off, step over the line, take one on, taunt, threaten, throw down gauntlet |
| Main Entry: | defy |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | challenge, frustrate |
| Synonyms: | baffle, beard, brave, confront, contemn, dare, defeat, deride, despise, disregard, elude, face, flout, foil, front, gibe*, hang tough*, ignore, insult, mock, oppose, provoke, repel, repulse, resist, ridicule, scorn, slight, spurn, stick*, thwart, venture, violate, withstand, fly in face of, hurl defiance at, make my day, outdare, stick fast, take one on |
| Antonyms: | give in, obey, surrender, yield |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | displease |
| Part of Speech: | verb |
| Definition: | make unhappy |
| Synonyms: | aggravate, anger, annoy, antagonize, bother, cap, chagrin, cool, curdle*, disappoint, discontent, disgust, disoblige, dissatisfy, enrage, exasperate, fret, frustrate, gall, hurt, incense, irk, irritate, nettle, offend, perplex, pique, play dirty, provoke, put out, repel, revolt, rile, roil, sound, turn off*, upset, vex, wing*, worry, zing*, cut to the quick, disgruntle |
| Antonyms: | appease, calm, compose, delight, humor, please, satisfy, make happy |
* = informal/non-formal usage
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
