1
as in excitement
something that arouses a strong response from another
a patient man who gets angry only from the greatest of provocations
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in incentive
something that arouses action or activity
ready to retaliate at the slightest provocation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of provocation
And while designers like Alexander McQueen pushed theatrical rebellion and Jean Paul Gaultier played with androgyny and provocation, John Richmond has remained deeply intertwined with the pulse of youth culture, making his brand feel authentic at London Fashion Week rather than appropriative.
—
Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Ahead of Sunday’s national parliamentary election, a new band of influencers has found a voice among voters by bringing a more youthful edge to the party known for its provocations and controversies.
—Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
The flood of orders, and the verbal provocations that accompany them, are part of an early strategy to overwhelm the system with aggressive policy changes and command the national conversation through brute administrative force, Trump allies and insiders say.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2025
In her debut memoir, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce, Haley Mlotek shows how this central incompatibility yields a useful provocation: There are hazards in relying on stories as the prevailing metaphor for one’s romantic experiences, and even one’s life in total.
—Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for provocation
Jeetendr Sehdev, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
Ahead of Sunday’s national parliamentary election, a new band of influencers has found a voice among voters by bringing a more youthful edge to the party known for its provocations and controversies.
—Sergey Ponomarev, New York Times, 22 Feb. 2025
The flood of orders, and the verbal provocations that accompany them, are part of an early strategy to overwhelm the system with aggressive policy changes and command the national conversation through brute administrative force, Trump allies and insiders say.
—Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2025
In her debut memoir, No Fault: A Memoir of Romance and Divorce, Haley Mlotek shows how this central incompatibility yields a useful provocation: There are hazards in relying on stories as the prevailing metaphor for one’s romantic experiences, and even one’s life in total.
—Rachel Vorona Cote, The Atlantic, 19 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for provocation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for provocation
Noun
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Part of the excitement is fueled by the fact that it will be overseen by none other than the British celebrity makeup artist, Pat McGrath, as the Creative Director of Cosmetics.—
Jessica Ourisman,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
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Their announcement Wednesday was full of excitement from fans, friends and teammates.—
Doha Madani,
NBC News,
5 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
New state and federal incentives will pay the bulk of the cost for the upgrade, making this an even more cost-effective choice.—
Ben Roush,
Baltimore Sun,
9 Mar. 2025
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Within days of taking office, Trump signed an executive order pausing the disbursement of funds from the Inflation Reduction Act, despite the fact that red states have largely benefited from the legislation’s clean energy incentives.—
Bella Kubach,
Orlando Sentinel,
7 Mar. 2025
Noun
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The Speaker of the House also threw cold water on the idea of a DOGE Dividend stimulus check according to The Hill.—
Shahar Ziv,
Forbes,
3 Mar. 2025
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Will there be a DOGE stimulus check?What to know about whether Americans will see savings Another step to take is to start moving a few hundred dollars of your monthly take-home pay into an emergency savings fund, a dwindling backup many Americans have had to dip into amid rising costs.—
Nicole Fallert,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Bitcoin Bitcoin remains trapped in a range below the key psychological level of $100,000 without any new impetus from Trump.—
Medora Lee,
USA TODAY,
19 Feb. 2025
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That’s not an overwhelming financial impetus, but a team in the Giants’ position can allocate that money better.—
Dan Pompei,
The Athletic,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
Offer encouragement without over-praising: Determination through trial and error, but finding the right balance between discipline and praise is key.—
Alana Bracken,
Parents,
28 Feb. 2025
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That is, encouragement that’s backed up with specific reasons and rationale.—
Scott Mautz, Contributor,
CNBC,
28 Feb. 2025
Noun
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Recognition continues to be a leading driver of engagement, impacting employee connection, motivation, and pride.—
Bob Helbig,
Hartford Courant,
6 Mar. 2025
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Based on my experience, when this process is delegated to a product UI or AI agent, motivation to respond decreases even more.—
Peter Potapov,
Forbes,
6 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Provocation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/provocation. Accessed 13 Mar. 2025.
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