# provocative

> English word · Adjective · IPA /pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/ · frequency rank #16,314

## Definitions
1. Serving or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.
2. Serving or tending to excite, stimulate or arouse sexual interest; sexy.
3. Provoking or triggering any response.

## Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French provocatif, and its source, Late Latin provocativus, from Latin provocare.

## Easily confused with
- **provocation** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/provocation-vs-provocative)

## Common misspellings (16)
`porvocative`, `pprovocative`, `proovcative`, `provcoative`, `provoactive`, `provocaitve`, `provocatiev`, `provocativve`, `provocattive`, `provocatvie`, `provoccative`, `provoctaive`, `provvocative`, `prrovocative`, `prvoocative`, `rpovocative`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/provocative