provocation

/ˌpɹɑvəˈkeɪʃən/

//ˌpɹɑvəˈkeɪʃən// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"provocation" is a 11-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“provocation” has 17 generated spelling variants in the English index at frequency #22,778. The variants make it a useful spelling check.

#22,778
frequency rank, English
4,417
“P” headwords
17
tracked misspellings
1
confusable pair

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - The act of provoking, inciting or annoying someone into doing something.

Corpus desk

Index EN-provocation · provocation · English

provocation · rank #22,778 · 17 variants · 1 confusable

  • FREQ-MID #22,778
  • LEN-MEGA 11 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-LOW 1 pairs
  • VAR-HIGH 17 variants
  • BOOK-MID 4,417
  • PHOTO-FINISH prophetic

Nearest frequency peer: prophetic (-1 rank slots)

Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Rank peers near misspelling magnet “provocation”

Same rarity band: useful when a typo lands on a peer headword

corpus weight

What this shows “provocation” sits among these FrequencyWords peers; misspelling depth is tracked separately in the edit-distance chart.

Source FrequencyWords open word-frequency list As of September 3, 2026

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

provocation vs provocative
82% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for provocation
PropertyValue
Headwordprovocation
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ˌpɹɑvəˈkeɪʃən/
Letters11
Frequency rank#22,778
Misspellings tracked17
Confusable pairs1
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Frequency seat of misspelling magnet “provocation”

Word frequency stretches from the small set of words we reach for constantly (left) out to the long tail barely used once in a while (right).provocationlands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

The axis is logarithmic, with each marked tick roughly ten times rarer than the last. Same rarity band neighbours include “prophetic” (#22,777), “purified” (#22,780), “prequel” (#22,775). Among 4,417 “P” headwords, “provocation” is #22,778. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

A misspelling magnet

The generator records 17 spelling variants around provocation (IPA /ˌpɹɑvəˈkeɪʃən/), anoun. Corpus frequency is #22,778 among 4,417 “P” headwords. Wiktionary lists 3 senses, so context still picks the gloss.

Our generated misspelling index lists 17 likely wrong-spelling variants for provocation, with forms such as "porvocation", "pprovocation", and "proovcation". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 1 confusable-pair relationship, "provocative", a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English provocacioun, from Old French provocacion, from Late Latin prōvocātiō, prōvocātiōnem, from Latin prōvocō. Doublet of provokatsiya. The correct English form is provocation, spelled P-R-O-V-O-C-A-T-I-O-N.

Definition

  1. 1
    The act of provoking, inciting or annoying someone into doing something.
  2. 2
    Something that provokes; a provocative act.
  3. 3
    The second step in OPQRST regarding the investigation of what makes the symptoms MOI or NOI improve or deteriorate.

Recorded use

Wiktionary example

These source excerpts show how provocation appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. When it's time to check for provocation, ask the patient about what makes their chief complaint better or worse.

Etymology

From Middle English provocacioun, from Old French provocacion, from Late Latin prōvocātiō, prōvocātiōnem, from Latin prōvocō. Doublet of provokatsiya.

This word in other languages

provocación(Español)provocation(Français)Provokation(Deutsch)provocação(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as:

  • porvocation
  • pprovocation
  • proovcation
  • provcoation
  • provoaction
  • provocaiton
  • provocasion
  • provocatino
  • provocationn
  • provocatoin
  • provocattion
  • provoccation
  • provoctaion
  • provvocation
  • prrovocation
  • prvoocation
  • rpovocation

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of provocation - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

porvocation2pprovocation1proovcation2provcoation2provoaction2provocaiton2provocasion1provocatino2
Edit distance from "provocation"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "provocation"?
"provocation" is spelled P-R-O-V-O-C-A-T-I-O-N. The IPA pronunciation is /ˌpɹɑvəˈkeɪʃən/.
What does "provocation" mean?
As a noun, "provocation" means: The act of provoking, inciting or annoying someone into doing something.
What words are commonly confused with "provocation"?
"provocation" is commonly confused with "provocative". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "provocation"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "provocation" is /ˌpɹɑvəˈkeɪʃən/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "provocation"?
From Middle English provocacioun, from Old French provocacion, from Late Latin prōvocātiō, prōvocātiōnem, from Latin prōvocō. Doublet of provokatsiya. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Similar English words by spelling shape

Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "provocation", not the corpus desk frequency band.

Same letter count

Frequency-ranked English headwords with 11 letters (nearest by frequency rank).

restitution#22,794nonexistent#22,749songwriting#22,820transporter#22,841

Similar misspelling depth

Headwords with a similar count of attested misspellings (17 here; floor ≥5).

veterinarian17 variantsfunctionally17 variantselectrically17 variantsdisillusioned17 variants

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list