to provoke
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to provoke
To deliberately challenge, irritate, or anger someone in order to cause a reaction.
Er versucht immer, seine Schwester mit dummen Sprüchen zu provozieren.
He always tries to provoke his sister with stupid remarks.
The verb 'provozieren' (to provoke) is always used with a direct object in the accusative. So you always provoke 'jemanden' (someone) or 'etwas' (something).
Der Redner provozierte das Publikum mit seinen Thesen.
The speaker provoked the audience with his arguments.
You can tell whether a person is being irritated or a thing is being triggered from the object. If a person is in the accusative, it usually means irritation or provocation. If an event is in the accusative, it means triggering or causing.
Er provozierte seinen Gegner während des Spiels.
He provoked his opponent during the game.
To name the means of provocation, you use the preposition 'mit' (with). A common passive reaction to this is the phrase 'sich (nicht) provozieren lassen' (to allow oneself/not allow oneself to be provoked).
Lass dich nicht von seinen Kommentaren provozieren!
Don't let yourself be provoked by his comments!
In the meaning 'auslösen' (to trigger), 'provozieren' (to provoke) is often combined with negative events or abstract concepts. Typical examples are 'einen Unfall provozieren' (to provoke/cause an accident), 'einen Streit provozieren' (to provoke an argument), or 'eine Debatte provozieren' (to provoke a debate).
Seine unvorsichtige Aktion provozierte einen gefährlichen Zwischenfall.
His careless action provoked a dangerous incident.
In a medical context, 'provozieren' (to provoke) is technical language. It means deliberately triggering a bodily reaction for a test, for example in an allergy test.
Für den Test wurde eine leichte allergische Reaktion provoziert.
A mild allergic reaction was provoked for the test.
to invite / load
'einladen' and 'provozieren' can both mean that something triggers a reaction or makes it more likely. In this meaning, 'einladen' is used figuratively, for example when a situation invites mistakes or criticism. It often sounds less direct and means more like: the conditions make something easily possible. 'provozieren' is stronger and more direct. It means that something deliberately or clearly provokes a reaction. If you want to say that a situation encourages something, 'einladen' fits. If the reaction is clearly triggered, 'provozieren' is more precise.
Mit seiner lauten Kritik provoziert er morgen sicher eine heftige Diskussion.
With his loud criticism, he is sure to provoke a heated discussion tomorrow.
Eine offene Tür lädt in dieser Gegend leider zu Diebstahl ein.
In this area, an open door unfortunately invites theft.