Provocative

Quick meaning: Provocative is an adjective meaning Serving or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.

Meaning

Serving or tending to elicit a strong, often negative sentiment in another person; exasperating.

More Meanings

1. Serving or tending to excite, stimulate or arouse sexual interest; sexy.
2. Provoking or triggering any response.
3. Something that provokes an appetite, especially a sexual appetite; an aphrodisiac.

Example Sentences

She used by way of Provocative, to read the wanton Verses of her Paramour in the day time [...].

In Turkey, Iran, and Syria salep is popular as a restorative and also as a provocative to amatory activity.

And the ‘wailing noise,’ which had induced the prosaic, indurated London cabman to get twice off his box to see what was the matter, what anguish had been provocative of that?

[I]t is a terrible long and slippery descent, and a shocking bad road. At the bottom, however, there is a pleasant public; whereat we must really take a modest quencher, for the down air is provocative of thirst.

Word Forms

• provocatives

Synonyms for provocative

Depending on context, synonyms include agitative, sexy, challenging, intriguing, exciting, incendiary.

Antonyms for provocative

Common opposites include unprovoking, unprovocative.

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include provoking, rabble-rousing, challenging, agitative, instigative, incitive.

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