1. To incite, stir, or induce one to take some action. You shouldn't have let the boss provoke you to quit—now you won't be entitled to any severance pay! They provoked me to retaliate, which gave them the justification they needed to arrest me.

2. To incite, stir, or induce one to some hostile or incensed emotional state or response. Her words at the funeral provoked me to anger. Do not provoke the lord of the manor to wrath.