Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

provocate

/pɹəˈvɑ(ː).keɪt/

Word Rarity Very rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 0.00 in modern English

Syllables: provo-cate
IPA: /pɹəˈvɑ(ː).keɪt/

16

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

8

Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

verb

verb

Example Sentences

"The movie called It is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse But the Society In Which He Lives was a provocating movie. It dramatized the situation and got hard reactions from the gays and the straights. But when you look at it now it is full of hate. And it was OK, in a way, to provocate, but it was not done with a lovely touch."

Etymology

From Middle English provocaten, from Latin prōvocō, prōvocātus. Doublet of provoke.

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: *wekʷ-, provocaten, prōvocō

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /pɹəˈvɑ(ː).keɪt/
British English: /pɹəˈvɒk.eɪt/

Inflected Forms

provocates (present, singular) provocating (participle, present) provocated (participle, past) provocated (past)

Frequently Paired Words

provocation provocator

Questions

How do you pronounce provocate?: The recorded pronunciation is /pɹəˈvɑ(ː).keɪt/.
What does provocate mean?: To provoke.
Where does provocate come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce provocate

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “provocate”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɹəˈvɑ(ː).keɪt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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Repeat and practice — Say “provocate” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.