verb
COLLOCATIONS FROM OTHER ENTRIES
arouse/provoke anger ( also stir up anger informal ) (= make people angry )
▪
The referee’s decision provoked anger among the fans.
arouse/provoke anxiety (= cause it )
▪
The presence of Indian troops near the border has aroused considerable anxiety in neighbouring Pakistan.
arouse/provoke/excite controversy (= cause it )
▪
Locke aroused considerable controversy with his suggestion.
cause/create/provoke conflict
▪
Sometimes very small disagreements can cause conflict within a family.
cause/provoke/spark unrest
▪
The introduction of new working practices provoked severe industrial unrest.
create/cause/provoke a crisis
▪
The people fled the country, creating a huge refugee crisis.
draw/attract/provoke criticism (= be criticized )
▪
The plan has drawn criticism from some groups.
incite/provoke violence (= do or say something that makes people become violent )
▪
The opposition leader was accused of inciting violence against the president.
provoke a response
▪
The report provoked a strong response from a number of senior politicians.
provoke/produce/bring a reaction
▪
The decision provoked an angry reaction from the local tourist industry.
provoke/spark a demonstration (= cause it )
▪
The incident sparked a demonstration of 2,000 people.
provoke/spark off an incident (= cause it to happen suddenly )
▪
It is claimed that the police provoked the incident.
provoke/spark/raise a storm (= make it start )
▪
This decision provoked a storm of protest from civil rights organizations.
provoke/spark/trigger debate (= cause a debate to start )
▪
The episode provoked fierce debate about freedom of speech.
COLLOCATIONS FROM CORPUS
■ ADVERB
deliberately
▪
The guards in and around the prison deliberately provoke the political prisoners.
■ NOUN
action
▪
Sometimes they even seem to provoke the trigger actions deliberately.
▪
But what followed was usually at least embarrassing for the firms, and quite often the disclosures provoked international action .
▪
But it might not provoke Balliol into action .
▪
That was almost invariably provoked by the actions of the dynasts themselves.
anger
▪
Another planned golf course in the Central Highlands has also provoked anger among locals.
▪
His detention has provoked the anger of his supporters, who include the radical state senator Tom Hayden.
▪
Let alone the content of the piece, the tsarist ring of the title was bound to provoke Soviet anger .
▪
This clause provoked considerable anger amongst the gay community and some concern amongst local authorities.
▪
Read in studio Well, the sentence imposed on Andrew Hayton has also provoked anger in parliament.
attack
▪
Repeated attempts to provoke an attack may cause the symptoms to disappear altogether.
▪
During their investigation they repeatedly told the family that they must have provoked the attack .
▪
For example, some parents feel unable to reprimand asthmatic children in case this provokes an attack .
▪
The army accused militant Ijaw youths of provoking the attack by murdering a group of policemen in the town.
▪
It only becomes conspicuous after an attack has started, and never provokes that attack.
▪
His own experience - always, except once, resisting and not provoking the attacks - had been so different.
backlash
▪
The problem since then has been how to rekindle a spirit of democratic inquiry without provoking another conservative backlash .
▪
And it provoked a furious backlash from Labour and union leaders.
comment
▪
His signing to fight Larry Holmes, after retiring a second time, provoked worried comment .
▪
The cost of the book must provoke adverse comment .
controversy
▪
The change depended upon changes in the wider context of controversy , which provoked the development of formerly implicit attitudinal aspects.
▪
On the next two winter tours there were plenty of controversies similar to those provoked by the Galle Test.
criticism
▪
The proposal provoked a storm of criticism that it was racist from immigration groups and campaigners on behalf of ethnic minorities.
▪
That action provoked heavy criticism and deep divisions within the cancer community.
▪
The announcement provoked a storm of criticism and anxious residents voiced concern over their uncertain future.
▪
As it was Britain's shift to protectionism and Imperial Preference provoked much criticism from Washington.
debate
▪
The Future Development of Auditing deserves to provoke a fundamental debate .
▪
A proposed resolution to oppose voucher plans and charter schools provoked a spirited debate on the convention floor.
▪
The fall of the Berlin Wall provokes a debate between the Professore and a Priest.
▪
No presidential policy is so controversial that it provokes heated debate .
▪
Doubts over Bush's health, however, provoked renewed public debate over Quayle's competence.
▪
This highly readable account deserves a wide audience and should provoke serious debate .
▪
The move provoked a prolonged debate about the pricing of audits.
▪
The Thatcher government's policy, effected in the Broadcasting Act of 1990, provoked intense debate .
discussion
▪
Differences here clearly warrant further investigation, and when revealed to the participating teams provoked considerable discussion .
▪
This act provoked intense discussion in the dormitories among students who were scarcely teenagers when he died.
▪
The clause on state language provoked heated discussion .
▪
Information about local authority policy and arrangements is clearly intended to provoke public awareness and discussion of local education policy generally.
government
▪
Falls in the price of oil had provoked the government four years previously to impose an austerity programme.
▪
But, in reality, the violence was provoked by the government .
interest
▪
I could see in the wing mirror that my arrival had provoked some interest .
▪
You know what my reasons have been in the past: I just don't want to provoke interest in myself.
▪
The campaign provoked great interest and virtually no adverse comment.
▪
Certainly it provoked wide media interest which continues today, and it remains a highly emotive issue.
▪
What really provoked my interest was the publication the following week of two purported solutions.
opposition
▪
The government's proposals for legislation on immigration from Hong Kong, for instance, provoked widespread backbench opposition .
outcry
▪
Spraying crops and burning stubble also provoke outcries from nearby residents.
▪
The large number of civilian deaths in Sakhiet provoked an international outcry .
▪
The last folly was finished in nineteen thirty-six and provoked such a public outcry that it led to the first-ever planning inquiry.
protest
▪
The leaks provoked angry protests from citizens and environmentalists.
▪
That bright idea, understandably, provoked howls of protest and is so obviously wrong that Rep.
▪
Its activities were well enough known to provoke widespread protest in the cahiers of 1789.
▪
It has already caused a sensation-stopping traffic and provoking a storm of protests .
▪
Its lack of detail provoked considerable protest .
reaction
▪
This call for help provokes a specific urgent reaction and interaction in the listener.
▪
To confront that reality some sorry, drunken night on the shore of an Arizona lake might provoke any of 100 reactions .
▪
They say some chief constables are unwilling to enforce the law, in case it provokes a violent reaction from the travellers.
▪
Nevertheless, the article provoked an avalanche of reaction .
▪
It immediately provoked a furious reaction from staff and unions.
▪
But critics say the police seem intent on provoking a violent reaction .
▪
Although they produce the strongest reactions , owls are not the only animals to provoke mobbing reactions.
response
▪
At the time of its publication this collection of essays provoked markedly differing critical responses .
▪
Sneers, deliberate and calculated to provoke a response that would betray his position.
▪
Images such as this were made to provoke a visceral response .
▪
It was not an alien phenomenon and, as such, did not provoke an extreme response or demand extreme measures.
▪
I religiously told Jim about each of Neil's presents, desperately hoping to provoke some sort of response .
▪
A question, a request, provokes either no response or an angry one.
▪
Contesting that remark would only provoke an angry response from the boy.
▪
Persuasive communication - communication designed to provoke a specific response - has been much researched and many factors may come into play.
storm
▪
The proposal provoked a storm of criticism that it was racist from immigration groups and campaigners on behalf of ethnic minorities.
▪
Had Puddephat provoked this storm by propositioning the boy?
▪
The announcement provoked a storm of criticism and anxious residents voiced concern over their uncertain future.
▪
The announcement of the referendum provoked a huge storm in the political world.
▪
It has already caused a sensation-stopping traffic and provoking a storm of protests.
strike
▪
Engineering and steel employers provoked the strike by reneging on contracts to boost eastern wages to western levels by 1994.
thought
▪
However, a second marginal comment in his New Testament both latches on to Crime and Punishment and provokes a backward thought .
▪
The enthusiasm with which the video nasties explanation as a crucial influence is embraced by many newspapers provokes three thoughts .
▪
This is a good game to both give enjoyment and to provoke some thought .
violence
▪
It is true that poverty sometimes provokes bitterness and violence , but the poor do not start wars.
▪
Such policies either ameliorate the worst conditions that might provoke violence or provide certain classes with advantages over classes below them.
war
▪
Tax deficient California's treatment of multinational firms threatens to provoke a global tax war .
■ VERB
try
▪
He was trying to provoke her, deliberately goading her into saying more than she intended.
▪
At recess, when one child tried to provoke him, Scott went over to play with another group of children.
▪
Or was he just trying to provoke her into an argument for the sheer hell of it?
EXAMPLES FROM OTHER ENTRIES
▪
Dole's comments provoked laughter from the press.
▪
The ambassador's offensive remarks provoked widespread criticism.
▪
The dog wouldn't bite you for just petting her. You must have provoked her.
▪
The judge ruled that Becker provoked her husband to attack her so she could shoot him.
▪
The new laws have provoked violent demonstrations in some towns.
EXAMPLES FROM CORPUS
▪
Both evoke pity, but Caroline occasionally also provokes revulsion.
▪
But when the others sat for the Scripture readings, Ray McGovern remained upright in their midst, provoking wariness and speculation.
▪
For one moment he hesitated, provoking her to give in to the gentle malice which settled inside her.
▪
The poem is given here in its 1807 version, since this provoked the controversy over it.
▪
The proposal provoked a storm of criticism that it was racist from immigration groups and campaigners on behalf of ethnic minorities.
▪
This call for help provokes a specific urgent reaction and interaction in the listener.
▪
Yet at the same time his remark provoked a traitorous pang of delight.
▪
You talk about everything, don't care if you provoke people, there's no rules, it's very free-form.