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provocative

UK/pɹəˈvɒk.ə.tɪv/US/pɹəˈvɑ.kə.tɪv/
adjectiveC1Common in everyday speech and writing · #6,642 of 15,258neutral

Provocative means meant to stir up strong feeling or argument. A provocative question, deliberately provocative, provocative clothing.

The key word is meant: a provocative remark is designed to get a reaction, which is why calling something provocative is a comment on the intention. Applied to clothing it is a judgement that has been used to excuse a great deal, and it is worth resisting.

Definitions of provocative

  1. 1adjectiveprovocativeMeant to stir up strong feeling or argument.C1

    “The artist's provocative painting caused an angry debate in the newspapers.”

provocative is a quality.

Where it comes from

Latin provocativus comes from provocare, to call forth — pro, forth, plus vocare, to call.

  1. Proto-Indo-European

    *wekʷ-

  2. Latin

    provocativus

  3. Middle French

    provocatif

  4. English, today

    provocative

Borrowed from Middle French provocatif, and its source, Latin provocativus, from Latin provocare.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA

Practise this word

provocative in the wild

  • The song's about a totally non-provocative man, who meets a "very provocative" girl, who wants to kiss him.

    Du willst mich küssen

  • The genre often features screamed vocals, hip hop beats, and sexually provocative lyrics.

    Crunkcore

  • Oraesia provocans, the provocative calpe, is a moth of the family Erebidae.

    Oraesia provocans

  • A few pieces do not feature horror themes but instead controversial or provocative figures of entertainment, such as persons associated with exploitation films.

    Lost Mysteries

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. These sentences were written by other people about their own subjects; they are here to show the word at work, not as anybody’s opinion.