provoke

v. (-king) 1 (often foll. By to, or to + infin.) Rouse or incite (provoked him to fury). 2 call forth; instigate; cause (indignation, an inquiry, process, etc.). 3 (usu. Foll. By into + verbal noun) irritate or stimulate (a person) (provoked him into retaliating). 4 tempt; allure.

v. t. To call forth; to call into being or action; esp., to incense to action, a faculty or passion, as love, hate, or ambition; hence, commonly, to incite, as a person, to action by a challenge, by taunts, or by defiance; to exasperate; to irritate; to offend intolerably; to cause to retaliate.