provoquer

Provoquer is a French verb meaning to cause, to bring about, or to trigger something. It can also mean to incite or to provoke a reaction in someone, or to challenge or irritate someone, potentially leading to a dispute or confrontation. In everyday use, the sense ranges from physical causation (to cause an event) to social or emotional provocation (to provoke anger or a response).

Etymology and related forms: Provoquer derives from Latin provocare, meaning to call forth. Related nouns include provocation (provocation) and provoked, as in provocation or the person who provokes (provocateur, provocatrice). The word is a regular -er verb in French conjugation.

Conjugation: Provoquer is a regular verb of the first group. Present tense forms: je provoque, tu provoques, il provoque, nous provoquons, vous provoquez, ils provoquent. The past participle is provoqué, used with auxiliary avoir: j'ai provoqué. Other common tenses include l’imparfait (je provoquais), le futur (je provoquerai), and the subjonctif présent (que je provoque, que nous provoquions, que vous provoquiez). The imperative forms are provoque, provoquons, provoquez.

Usage notes: Provoquer is transitive and can take a direct object to indicate causing something (ex: La chaleur provoque l’ébullition). It is also used with people to denote provoking someone to anger or action (ex: Il a provoqué son adversaire en le provoquant). The expression provoquer une réaction is common to describe eliciting a response, while provoquer une bagarre denotes inciting a fight.

Examples: La tempête a provoqué des coupures d’électricité. Son discours a provoqué une vive réaction. Elle a provoqué une discussion en posant une question provocante.