provoke
/pɹəˈvəʊk/
"provoke" is a 7-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“provoke” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #15,035 in English word frequency and used as a verb.
- #15,035
- frequency rank, English
- 7
- letters
- 10
- tracked misspellings
- 7
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - To cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | provoke |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /pɹəˈvəʊk/ |
| Letters | 7 |
| Frequency rank | #15,035 |
| Misspellings tracked | 10 |
| Confusable pairs | 7 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “provoke” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for provoke is 7 letters long, classified as a verb, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /pɹəˈvəʊk/. Corpus data places it at rank #15,035 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 3 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 10 likely wrong-spelling variants for provoke, with forms such as "porvoke", "pprovoke", and "proovke". Each variant is a distinct typo pattern an edit-distance generator flags, typically a doubled-consonant error, a silent-letter drop, or a vowel substitution. It also participates in 7 confusable-pair relationships, "provost", "provoked", "prove", and more, since the words sound or look close enough that writers reach for the wrong one mid-sentence.
Etymologically, the entry records: Borrowed from Middle French provoquer, from Old French, from Latin prōvocāre. Doublet of provocate. The correct English form is provoke, spelled P-R-O-V-O-K-E.
Definition
- 1To cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
- 2To bring about a reaction.
- 3To appeal.
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French provoquer, from Old French, from Latin prōvocāre. Doublet of provocate.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: porvoke,pprovoke,proovke,provkoe,provoek,provokke,provvoke,prrovoke,prvooke,rpovoke
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of provoke - measured in single-character edits (insert, delete, or substitute a letter). Larger bars are easier to catch; one-edit slips are the sneakiest.
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 "provoke"?
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Using “provoke”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is P-R-O-V-O-K-E - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /pɹəˈvəʊk/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “provost” - see the side-by-side comparison. provoke vs provost
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.