How to Use provocation in a Sentence

provocation

noun
Definition of provocationnext
Synonyms for provocationnext
  • With hardly any provocation, the crowd began to chant.
  • He can turn violent at the least provocation.
  • Her calmness in the face of repeated provocations impressed her friends.
  • To do so, for artists like Braque and Höch, was a means of provocation.
    — Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 16 Aug. 2024
  • That great unknown alone makes the provocation worth the hype.
    — Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 7 Sep. 2023
  • And provocation includes things that make the pain worse.
    — Jenny Sweigard, Verywell Health, 5 Mar. 2024
  • This show can feel like a provocation, a dare to hate Carmichael, then love him and back again.
    — Jason Zinoman, New York Times, 13 May 2024
  • And so this is a new level of provocation from the Chinese.
    — Samuel Chamberlain, Fox News, 16 Jan. 2021
  • The young man was dark-complexioned and thin and seemed steady, and ready to take on any provocation.
    — Alaa Al Aswany, Harper's Magazine, 22 June 2021
  • There was provocation on the part of both Bradley and Allissa.
    — Emily Palmer, Peoplemag, 13 Sep. 2023
  • The label name is a clear provocation to those who see jazz as extinct.
    — Sheldon Pearce, The New Yorker, 10 Aug. 2021
  • That doesn’t mean Ishiba will be weak in the face of Chinese provocations.
    — Arata Yamamoto, NBC News, 27 Sep. 2024
  • The protection squad will no doubt be seen as a provocation by Arabs in town.
    — Amy Kellogg, Fox News, 14 May 2021
  • There has to be at least a minimum of provocation in art.
    — New York Times, 3 Feb. 2022
  • The editor pulled his nose and slapped him - a provocation for a duel, but the younger Adams did not fight back.
    — BostonGlobe.com, 3 Apr. 2021
  • In the worldview of this movie, there’s no room for it: There is no such thing as love conquered by provocation.
    — K. Austin Collins, Rolling Stone, 6 Apr. 2022
  • But the gunman walked behind the counter and shot him in the chest without provocation, police said.
    — Michelle Hunter, NOLA.com, 10 Dec. 2020
  • All of that and more is a strong and effective response to the provocations from North Korea.
    — Kevin Lynn, Newsweek, 7 Jan. 2025
  • And so the provocations and groans continue, for two hours and 40 minutes that could have been half or twice as long.
    — Jesse Green, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024
  • Some of Tibi’s florals and swirls drew the eye downward, a quiet provocation.
    — Miami Staff, Miami Herald, 30 Jan. 2024
  • But there is more than prurience or even provocation at work here.
    — Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2023
  • All of this deserves headlines, which, by their nature, err on the side of provocation.
    — Kent Sepkowitz, CNN, 2 Aug. 2021
  • Then horror struck, when a man pulled a gun on them without provocation and shots rang out.
    — Marlene Lenthang, NBC News, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Very awkward message to project to a crowd of moviegoers, but it is meant to be a provocation.
    — Jennifer Wilson, The New Republic, 27 Dec. 2022
  • Berlin fears that Moscow will view the presence of German tanks as a provocation and wants the US to send its tanks to give it cover.
    — Frida Ghitis, CNN, 22 Jan. 2023
  • So, the case is complex, but the larger provocation is simple.
    — Bernard Avishai, The New Yorker, 13 May 2021
  • Keeping the base open could hardly be called a provocation, given it’s been around for years.
    — William Lloyd Stearman, WSJ, 19 May 2021
  • But the dare, the invitation to couple with the man who is your brother, still retains the charge of provocation.
    — Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 Apr. 2022
  • Poilievre has been described as a Trump-like figure, casting himself as a victim of the elite and the media, with a penchant for insults and provocations.
    — Laura Kelly, The Hill, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Considering this is an intimate environment with a lot of suites — and the type of people who fill up suites on opening night of an entirely new thing — getting anything from the fans without provocation is a win.
    — Brody Miller and Hugh Kellenberger, The Athletic, 8 Jan. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'provocation.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Last Updated: