Provoking

Examples

• Don't start when I chance to speak rather sharply; it's so provoking. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
• Thus did this provoking creature delight in teasing me, and the next half-hour he would seem passionately devoted to me. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• Moreover, at this instant, I had good reason to believe the provoking little reptile was actually in the arms of some frail, very frail, French woman. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• I have no time to reason with you now; but I consider you provoking. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
• You are very cruel, said her sister, you will not let me smile, and are provoking me to it every moment. Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice.
• No introduction of the business could have been less like that which Lydgate had intended; but her indifferent manner had been too provoking. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
• If I am ever a little provoking, I am sure you'll consider what a thing it is to occupy my position and feel a consciousness of being superior to it. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
• Nevertheless it was abominably provoking. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• But Greece is not like London, said Crispin, with the intention of provoking the Greek. Fergus Hume. The Island of Fantasy.
• The rest of them were nearly as provoking in their different ways as the doctor himself. Wilkie Collins. The Moonstone.
• What provoking burr has been inconveniently attracted to the charming skirts, and with difficulty shaken off? Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
• How provoking you are, said Julia. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• We will,' replied Mr. Grimwig, with a provoking smile; 'we will. Charles Dickens. Oliver Twist.
• My dear, said he to his lady, it is very provoking that we should be so few. Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.
• Mr. Osborne said, with still provoking good humour. William Makepeace Thackeray. Vanity Fair.
• You provoking old Gilmore, what can you possibly mean by calling him a man? Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
• It is a most provoking situation, a most absurd situation; but you know Mr Merdle, and are not surprised. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
• Mr. Woodhouse's peculiarities and fidgetiness were sometimes provoking him to a rational remonstrance or sharp retort equally ill-bestowed. Jane Austen. Emma.
• I am not joking; I am as serious as possible, said the Rector, with a provoking little inward laugh. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
• How provoking! Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
• I shook her, I chid her, I pinched her fingers when she tried to put me off with gibes and jests in her queer provoking way, and at last out it came. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
• Provoking indeed,' said Bella, 'and no burr to boast of! Charles Dickens. Our Mutual Friend.
• You do really try to be provoking, said Marie. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
• He is ironical, provoking, questioning, the old enemy of the Sophists, ready to put on the mask of Silenus as well as to argue seriously. Plato. The Republic.
• Can't you enter into the secret of my temper, said this most provoking little man, in his usual impressive, slow way. Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• The Patriarchal state, always a state of calmness and composure, was so particularly serene that evening as to be provoking. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
• It is very provoking! Harriette Wilson. The Memoirs of Harriette Wilson.
• It was very provoking to be arrested in the act of a first trying-on, and ordered out to make calls in her best array on a warm July day. Louisa May Alcott. Little Women.
• I could not go there by daylight without provoking comment, but as soon as night fell I hurried off to see my dear Arthur. Arthur Conan Doyle. The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
• It is indeed for Mrs. Jennings; how provoking! Jane Austen. Sense and Sensibility.

Typist: Phil