v. t.
Obey his voice, provoke him not. Ex. xxiii. 21. [ 1913 Webster ]
Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. Eph. vi. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]
Such acts
Of contumacy will provoke the Highest
To make death in us live. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]
Can honor's voice provoke the silent dust? Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]
To the poet the meaning is what he pleases to make it, what it provokes in his own soul. J. Burroughs. [ 1913 Webster ]
v. i.
n. The act that which, provokes; one who excites anger or other passion, or incites to action;
Drink, sir, is a great provoker of three things. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]