Home › Words › P › provocateprovocate/pɹəˈvɒk.eɪt/provocate means to provoke.provocate is pronounced /pɹəˈvɒk.eɪt/.EtymologyFrom Middle English provocaten, from Latin prōvocō, prōvocātus. Doublet of provoke.verbTo provoke.To call forth.To challenge.Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).