provoke

"It is defended precisely when those opinions disturb or provoke disagreement, provided that they form part of democratic debate, as is the case across all of our media outlets."

From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026

Refn: How to provoke the soul is through stillness and silence.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026

England will commit numerous players to this initial build-up phase, including striker Harry Kane, who drops into holding midfield positions to provoke the opposition into leaving their half.

From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026

Harvard recently announced a cap on A’s in any given class, but it doesn’t address lower grades, including A-minuses, and such measures tend to provoke faculty resistance.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

“I mean don’t provoke them. Don’t respond to anything, don’t do anything. Just...act like they’re talking about somebody else. Don’t be getting all on Tweeter or whatever, making comments.”

From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas

Truly creative and inspiring art undermines that goal, because it provokes responses like empathy and critical thinking in audiences — which gets in the way of authoritarian domination.

From Salon ● Jul. 20, 2026

But if West provokes a contest now, that rules Burnham out.

From BBC ● May 9, 2026

Ms. Enyedi implicitly provokes such consideration through shots that often put flora in the foreground, with humans reduced to background extras.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 7, 2026

The worry "is that the tariff threat provokes retaliatory actions by the EU, triggering a new trade war," said Briefing.com analyst Patrick O'Hare.

From Barron's ● Jan. 20, 2026

This “achievement gap” is a phenomenon that has been observed over and over again, and it typically provokes one of two responses.

From "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell

In fact, the entire stock market could be best described as a casino that incentivizes absurd growth like the historic tech bubble provoked by the spread of artificial intelligence.

From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026

But her intervention has provoked a bit of a backlash among former colleagues and has raised some questions around the current first minister's approach going forward.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

It has also provoked debate over whether the mission of higher education — and help paying for it — should be tied to a paycheck after graduation.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026

The dismissal provoked criticism among Ukrainians who credit Mykhailo Fedorov for his efforts to modernize the country’s armed forces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026

His death provoked a national outcry and massive sympathy marches in cities across the North.

From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman

It said such devices contributed to higher atmospheric pollution of nitrogen oxides that are suspected of "provoking the development of respiratory diseases in humans".

From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026

For some time, Nicaragua’s leaders have largely avoided provoking Trump.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

The Duchess of Sussex is a polarising figure in the UK, provoking strong reactions among her supporters and her detractors.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Lenin’s party would soon take power, provoking a long and bloody civil war out of which would emerge the Soviet Union.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

She double-parked on busy cross streets as she dashed in and out of buildings, provoking an avalanche of honking ire from other drivers, while the rest of us sat helplessly in the car.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama