provoke

PROVO'KE, verb transitive [Latin provoco, to call forth; pro and voco, to call.] 1. To call into action; to arouse; to excite; as, to provoke anger or wrath by offensive words or by injury; to provoke war. 2. To make angry; to offend; to incense; to enrage. Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath. Ephesians 6:4. Often provoked by the insolence of some of the bishops-- 3. To excite; to cause; as, to provoke perspiration; to provoke a smile. 4. To excite; to stimulate; to increase. The taste of pleasure provokes the appetite, and every successive indulgence of vice which is to form a habit, is easier than the last. 5. To challenge. He now provokes the sea-gods from the shore. 6. To move; to incite; to stir up; to induce by motives. Romans 10:19. Let us consider one another to provoke to love and to good works. Hebrews 10:24. 7. To incite; to rouse; as, to provoke one to anger. Deuteronomy 32:21. PROVO'KE, verb intransitive To appeal. [A Latinism, not used.]