unprovoked

[US]/ˌʌnprəˈvəʊkt/
[UK]/ˌʌnprəˈvoʊkt/
Frequency: Very High

Translation

adj. (especially of violent behavior) without being provoked, occurring without reason or cause.

Phrases & Collocations

unprovoked attack

Example Sentences

a totally unprovoked attack

acts of unprovoked aggression.

the unprovoked shooting of civilians by soldiers.

Real-world Examples

Captain Bill Urban, a spokesman for the U.S. Central Command, called the incident an unprovoked attack.

Source: VOA Special June 2019 Collection

President Muhammadu Buhari described the attack on Sheikh Goni Aisami as an unprovoked and cold-blooded murder.

Source: BBC Listening Collection August 2022

There have been around 70 to 80 unprovoked shark bites yearly, worldwide, over the past 10 years.

Source: VOA Special June 2023 Collection

The state of Florida led the world last year with 16 unprovoked bites, the shark attack file said.

Source: VOA Special June 2023 Collection

It was a surprise assault from the air, what President Franklin D. Roosevelt described as an unprovoked and dastardly attack.

Source: CNN 10 Student English December 2021 Collection

Unprovoked displays of aggression cannot be tolerated.

Source: Langman OCLM-01 words

Why would ben just come and hit you unprovoked?

Source: Gossip Girl Season 4

Eye-witness accounts told of the unprovoked shooting of civilians.

Source: Langman OCLM-01 words

Others claimed that Jesse and his fellow guerrillas launched an unprovoked attack on the soldiers.

Source: Charming history

Israel's unprovoked attack on the flotillas supplying aid to Gaza.

Source: The Good Wife Season 2

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