provoke
/prəʊˈvəʊk/verb
with obj.
1- stimulate or give rise to (a reaction or emotion, typically a strong or unwelcome one) in someone刺激, 导致（尤指强烈或令人不快的反应或情绪）：
the decision provoked a storm of protest from civil rights organizations
这一决定挑起了民权组织的抗议浪潮
as adj.,in combination -provoking anxiety-provoking situations.令人焦急的局势。
1.1
- stimulate or incite (someone) to do or feel something, especially by arousing anger in them鼓动, 激励, 刺激：
a teacher can provoke you into working harder.
老师能激励你更努力学习。
1.2
- deliberately make (someone) annoyed or angry故意激怒（某人）：
Rachel refused to be provoked.
雷切尔硬是没被激怒。
派生词
provokable
adjectiveprovoker
nounprovokingly
adverb词源
late Middle English （also in the sense 'invoke，summon'）： from Old French provoquer,from Latin provocare 'challenge'，from pro- 'forth'+vocare 'to call'.