Synonyms of provoke
120 similar words
Another word for provoke is bother. Other synonyms of provoke are devil, trouble, hassle, encourage and outrage.
Synonyms and similar words for provoke
verbTo cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
- harass
- set offTo begin; to cause; to initiate.
- vexTo annoy, irritate.
- aggravateTo exasperate; to provoke or irritate.
- annoy
- nettleTo pique, irritate, vex or provoke.
- rankle
- ruffle
- sting
- burn someone's assTo irritate, bother, grind one's gears.
- antagonizeTo work against; to oppose (especially to incite a reaction).
- botherTo annoy, to disturb, to irritate; to be troublesome to, to make trouble for.
- disgruntleTo make discontent or cross; to put in a bad temper.
- botherateTo bother.
- bug
- get
- grate
- burn upTo anger; to annoy.
- bedevilTo harass or cause trouble for; to plague.
- acerbate formalTo exasperate; to irritate.
- cheese off slangTo annoy.
- devilTo annoy or bother.
- exasperateTo tax the patience of; irk, frustrate, vex, provoke, annoy; to make angry.
- frustrateTo cause stress or annoyance.
- get up
- grotch
- hack off
- hassleTo trouble, to bother, to annoy.
- irkTo irritate; annoy; bother.
- irritateTo provoke impatience, anger, or displeasure in.
- jazz
- molestTo annoy, trouble, or afflict.
- mommick US, dialectalTo harass or bother (someone or something).
- narkTo annoy or irritate.
- pee off slangSynonym of piss off (all senses).
- peeveTo annoy; vex.
- peeve offSynonym of annoy or piss off.
- persecute
- piqueTo wound the pride of (someone); to excite to anger; to irritate, to offend.
- piss off vulgarTo annoy, anger.
- rileTo stir or move from a state of calm or order.
- rile upTo rile; to aggravate.
- roilTo annoy; to make angry; to throw into discord.
- stormTo disturb or trouble (someone).
- test someone's patienceTo begin to frustrate someone.
- tick off Canada, USTo annoy, aggravate.
- troubleIn weaker sense: to bother or inconvenience.
- try one's patience
- wind upTo upset; to anger or distress.
- Idioms:
- boil someone's piss vulgarTo irritate someone very much; to make someone very annoyed.
- chap someone's hideTo annoy someone; get on someone's nerves.
- get on someone's nervesTo annoy or irritate someone; to bother someone.
- get on someone's tits vulgarTo annoy or irritate.
- get on someone's wickTo annoy or upset someone, especially by repeated disagreeable actions.
- get someone's back upTo annoy or anger someone.
- get someone's dander upTo anger or annoy someone.
- get someone's goatTo annoy or infuriate someone.
- get someone's Irish upTo anger or annoy someone.
- get someone's nanny
- get someone's nanny-goat
- get under one's goat
- get under someone's skin
- give someone the shits Australia, colloquialTo annoy or frustrate someone to a great degree.
- grind one's gearsTo annoy or irritate one.
- harsh one's mellowTo spoil one's good mood or to annoy one.
- put someone's back upSynonym of get someone's back up: to annoy someone.
- raise someone's hacklesTo annoy or anger someone.
- rub someone the wrong wayTo cause someone irritation, discomfort or annoyance, often unintentionally, because of one's behavior, manner...
- rub up the wrong wayTo annoy or anger someone.
- ruffle someone's feathersTo unease, cause discomfort to someone.
- tee off slangTo irritate, vex, or annoy.
- torque off USTo annoy, distress, or anger.
- affront
- anger
- awrathAnger; enrage.
- cross
- embitter
- envenom
- gall
- get to
- honk offTo annoy.
- incenseTo anger; to infuriate.
- inflameTo cause (someone, or their heart, mind, etc.) to feel strong desire or other feelings; to excite (someone) to great...
- infuriateTo make furious or mad with anger; to fill with fury.
- madden
- make angry
- offend
- outrageTo inspire feelings of outrage in.
- put out
- steam
- get one's back up
- make someone see red
- make someone's blood boilTo cause a person to feel angry or very annoyed, especially in situation in which one cannot fully display that feeling...
- raise someone's shagTo anger or annoy someone.
- rattle someone's cage
- rub the wrong way
- ruffle some feathersTo cause a disturbance; to arouse resentment, anger, or concern.
- set up someone's birse ScotlandTo make someone angry.
- nerve rare
verbTo bring about a reaction.
- incite
- instigateTo bring about by urging or encouraging.
- whip upTo arouse or excite.
- actuateTo incite to action; to motivate.
- goose
- fuel
- light a fire underTo motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.
- send
- bring aboutTo cause to take place.
- drawTo attract or provoke (a particular reaction or response) from someone.
- driveTo motivate; to provide an incentive for.
- encourageTo mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
- egg onTo encourage or coax (a person) to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless.
- engenderTo bring into existence (a situation, quality, result etc.); to give rise to, cause, create.
- evokeTo elicit a response.
- exciteTo arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
- fomentTo incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.
- goadTo incite or provoke.
- ignite figurativelyTo spark off (something), to trigger.
- impelTo urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation.
Meaning of provoke
- verb To cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
- verb To bring about a reaction.
- verb To appeal.
provoke in other languages
Questions about synonyms of provoke
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: provoke (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Cite this page: “Synonyms of provoke.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/provoke. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.