provoke
v.v. to cause a strong reaction or feeling in someone, especially anger. You use this when an action or comment makes something happen or makes someone act.
v. to incite or stimulate a specific reaction, emotion, or physical response. Transitive; often implies a deliberate or inevitable causal link between the stimulus and the resulting behavior.
His rude comments often provoke an argument.
The government's decision to raise taxes is likely to provoke widespread protests across the country.
The philosopher's latest book was designed to provoke intense debate among scholars regarding the ethical implications of artificial intelligence in modern warfare.
Borrowed from Middle French provoquer, from Old French, from Latin prōvocāre. Doublet of provocate.
The verb is transitive and takes a direct object; it is frequently followed by a noun representing an emotional state or a social reaction.
he provoked to mehe provoked meProvoke is a transitive verb and takes a direct object without the preposition 'to'.