provoke
/pɹəˈvoʊk/verb
provoke is spelled P-R-O-V-O-K-E: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, provoke means “To cause someone to become annoyed or angry” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in provoke?
| Letters | 7: P-R-O-V-O-K-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 3.2 times per million words; the 14,928th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is provoke?
Provoke appears 3.2 times per million words in written English, the 14,928th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce provoke?
- UK /pɹəˈvəʊk/
- US /pɹəˈvoʊk/
- [pɹəˈvɛʊk]
Provoke has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-provoke.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with provoke?
The 12 most written words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as provoke from its last stressed vowel (/oʊk/):
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of provoke
- provokes present, singular, he/she/it
- provoking participle, present
- provoked participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does provoke mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
Don't provoke the dog; it may try to bite you.
- 2
To bring about a reaction.
- 3
obsoleteTo appeal.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Provoke in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense to cause to become angry:
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | provoquer |
| German | provozieren, aufreizen, aufwühlen, aufhetzen, aufpeitschen, aufstacheln |
| Portuguese | provocar, irritar |
| Spanish | provocar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does provoke come from?
Borrowed from Middle French provoquer, from Old French, from Latin prōvocāre. Doublet of provocate.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).