An action or statement that deliberately angers or upsets someone; something done or said to intentionally trigger a reaction.
From Latin 'provocare' combining 'pro-' (forward) and 'vocare' (to call), literally 'to call forth.' It originally meant summoning someone to combat, then evolved to mean intentionally triggering any emotional response.
A provocation is literally 'calling forth' a response—from its origins in warrior culture where you'd provoke an enemy to fight, it now describes any deliberate emotional button-pushing. The idea of 'calling forth' anger is thousands of years old.
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