provocation

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A disclaimer in Jeffrey Epstein’s email signature was a provocation as much as a warning: The contents of this message “may constitute inside information.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

Seoul's presidential Blue House condemned the launches as a "provocation that violates United Nations Security Council resolutions" and urged Pyongyang to immediately stop such acts.

From Barron's • Mar. 14, 2026

On a second watch, “Sirāt” became a philosophical provocation — a movie that questions everything we believe about family and security and community and faith.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 10, 2026

Others speculated that, due to Fennell’s penchant for audience provocation, the quotation marks were an Easter egg indicating that her take on Brontë’s novel would be far from your great-great-grandmother’s “Wuthering Heights.”

From Salon • Feb. 14, 2026

“Do we know for a fact that the North Vietnamese provocation took place?” one advisor asked.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin