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Provoke vs Sharpen - What's the difference?

provoke | sharpen | Related terms |

Provoke is a related term of sharpen.


As verbs the difference between provoke and sharpen

is that provoke is to cause someone to become annoyed or angry while sharpen is (transitive|sometimes|figurative) to make sharp.

provoke

English

Verb

(provok)
  • to cause someone to become annoyed or angry.
    • Don't provoke the dog; it may try to bite you.
  • * Bible, Eph. vi. 4
    • Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath.
  • to bring about a reaction.
  • * J. Burroughs
    • To the poet the meaning is what he pleases to make it, what it provokes in his own soul.
  • *{{quote-news
    • , year=2011 , date=November 12 , author= , title=International friendly: England 1-0 Spain , work=BBC Sport citation , page= , passage=Spain were provoked into a response and Villa almost provided a swift equaliser when he rounded Hart but found the angle too acute and could only hit the side-netting.}}
  • (obsolete) To appeal.
    • (Dryden)

    Synonyms

    * (bring about a reaction) bring about, discompose, egg on, engender, evoke, grill, incite, induce, inflame, instigate, invoke, rouse, set off, stir up, whip up

    Derived terms

    * provocation * provocative

    Related terms

    * provocateur

    sharpen

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (transitive, sometimes, figurative) To make sharp
  • * (Edmund Burke) (1729-1797)
    • He that wrestles with us strengthens our nerves and sharpens our skill.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-07-26, author=(Leo Hickman)
    • , volume=189, issue=7, page=26, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= How algorithms rule the world , passage=The use of algorithms in policing is one example of their increasing influence on our lives.

    Antonyms

    * blunt

    Derived terms

    * sharpener