provoking

[ pruh-voh-king ]

adjective

1. serving to provoke; causing annoyance.

Other Words From

• pro·voking·ly adverb
• unpro·voking adjective
• unpro·voking·ly adverb

Word History and Origins

Origin of provoking¹

First recorded in 1520–30; provoke + -ing ²

Example Sentences

In the end, Iran’s 180 ballistic missiles were fired mainly at Israeli military sites and other security installations, not civilian targets — the attack apparently constrained to avoid provoking a devastating Israeli reprisal.

From Los Angeles Times

Israel was fighting a shadow war with Iran, but each side was careful to keep the fighting within certain bounds, for fear of provoking the other into a larger-scale conflict.

From BBC

Such misinformation, he said, risks further endangering lives and provoking division as his administration works to mitigate damage and send relief to affected areas.

From Salon

He urged Congress to halt a freight rail strike in 2022, provoking backlash for "siding with billionaires" over workers, though the latter eventually got much of what they asked for.

From Salon

This is a conflict without obvious end which presents too no end of thorny dilemmas based around a recurring theme: how to defeat Russia without provoking Moscow.

From BBC