0 an action or statement that is intended to make someone angry:
1 an action that is intended to cause a reaction, esp. anger or annoyance:
[ U ] a deliberate act of provocation
The historical resonance of that provocation goes without saying.
Nonetheless, for sufficient provocation might these means be morally acceptable?
In between play sessions, boys responded to hypothetical provocations involving each of their peer group members.
A symptom provocation study of posttraumatic stress disorder using positron emission tomography and script-driven imagery.
A culture that highly values personal honor will encourage hostile attributions in response to personal threats and provocations.
When aggressive and nonaggressive children were presented cues surrounding ambiguous provocations, both hypotheses were supported.
Certainly, there is an element of (we hope) goodnatured provocation in our discussion - this was, after all, going to be a "target" article.
Despite its throwaway appearance, this exhibition is a subtle, sophisticated provocation.