Provocative quotes:

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Unusual yet beautiful. Provocative while remaining elegant. -- Erin Morgenstern
Let us consider that swearing is a sin of all others peculiarly clamorous, and provocative of Divine judgment. -- Isaac Barrow
I think a newspaper should be provocative, stir 'em up, but you can't do that on television. It's just not on. -- Rupert Murdoch
Provocative and challenging The Social License makes a compelling case for why companies must look to increase their positive social impact as an integral part of their core business strategies. -- Paul Polman
I think photographs should be provocative and not tell you what you already know. It takes no great powers or magic to reproduce somebody's face in a photograph. The magic is in seeing people in new ways. -- Duane Michals
A person once asked me, in a provocative manner, if I approved of homosexuality. I replied with another question: 'Tell me: when God looks at a gay person, does he endorse the existence of this person with love, or reject and condemn this person?' We must always consider the person. -- Pope Francis
I'm in awe of the universe, but I don't necessarily believe there's an intelligence or agent behind it. I do have a passion for the visual in religious rituals, though, even though they may be completely empty and bereft of substance. The incense is powerful and provocative, whether Buddhist or Catholic. -- David Bowie
I think scent is sensual. I guess evoking a mood or a spirit is key, and I think with the women's fragrances we have evoked different types, moods or sensibilities of a woman - whether it's Daisy with the sweetness and the innocence or Lola which is more provocative, sexy and sultry. -- Marc Jacobs
Say 'provoking' again. Your mouth looks provocative when you do. -- Becca Fitzpatrick
There is nothing more provocative than minding your own business. -- William S. Burroughs
No sight is more provocative of awe than is the night sky. -- Llewelyn Powys
You must obey the law, always, not only when they grab you by your special place. -- Vladimir Putin
There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman? -- Woody Allen
Justice is the insurance which we have on our lives and property. Obedience is the premium which we pay for it. -- William Penn
A faint smile that made every tiny hair on her body rise in quivering attention. "How fast can you run?" A wolf's question. -- Nalini Singh
The book is what we have come to expect from Marion: challenging, subtle and nuanced analyses, dassling formulations, . . a provocative and original philosophical genius. -- John D. Caputo
A highly cultivated taste, a taste that is knowledgeable and eclectic, is likely to be exciting and provocative, a personal taste at its highest level. -- Eleanor Brown
I do love the prose poem because it's such a perverse and provocative little box - always asking to be questioned, never giving a straight or definitive answer. -- Matthea Harvey
Insurance - an ingenious modern game of chance in which the player is permitted to enjoy the comfortable conviction that he is beating the man who keeps the table. -- Ambrose Bierce
Some directors expect you to do everything; write, be producer, psychiatrist. Some just want you to die in a tragic accident during the shooting so they can get the insurance. -- John Malkovich
I am provocative, and I admit this. It isn't as if I'm only on the receiving end, a poor, frail little creature. I can be thoroughly nasty when I get going, and I don't pull my punches. -- Helen Suzman
To really be tortured by a song, it needs to be more than just something you don't like or don't get; it has to make your skin crawl by getting under it. Strangely, that last clause could describe provocative or daring music, as well. -- Carrie Brownstein
Newton's theory is not 'not right', it just does not cover all distances. Contrary to popular belief, theories in science are not proven wrong, they are just replaced by more complete and convenient theories. To sound provocative, even the geocentric theory was never "proven" wrong, it is just not as convenient as the heliocentric theory, since it requires endless epicycles. -- Nathan Seiberg
Patronizing the Arts is a brilliantly nuanced assessment of why universities must become art patrons. Learning from the twentieth-century university's embrace of Big Science, Garber argues that twenty-first-century universities must rigorously devote their attention to Big Art. Provocative, witty, and layered, Patronizing the Arts cogently demonstrates the advantages for both art and the university in this new and radical alliance. -- Peggy Phelan
I love beautiful women. I love to show their personality, their sexuality. There's a fashion side to my erotic pictures: I love beautiful shoes and jewellery. But the erotic work I do is too daring and provocative for a fashion magazine. It's more fun, and if you have the right girl who likes it, more exciting, too. It's fashion photography, but with fewer clothes. -- Ellen von Unwerth
Madness in Civilization is a brilliant, provocative, and hugely entertaining history of the treatment and mistreatment of the mentally ill. Packed with bizarre details and disturbing facts, Andrew Scull's book offers fresh and compelling insights on the way medicine's inability to solve the mystery of madness has both haunted and shaped two thousand years of culture. Required reading for anyone who has ever gone to a shrink! -- Dirk Wittenborn
I naturally want to be provocative. -- Iggy Azalea
I have nothing but the highest regard for 'Salon' and its commitment to independent and provocative journalism. -- Glenn Greenwald
Written poetry is different. Best thing is to see it in performance first, then read it. Performance is more provocative. -- Adrian Mitchell
So there's nothing more provocative than taking a genre that everybody who's cool hates - and then making it cool. -- Lady Gaga
I don't want to be too 'classic' because it's not in the DNA of Gucci. You need to be a little bit provocative. -- Frida Giannini
I know I'm not the greatest singer or dancer, but that doesn't interest me. I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons. -- Madonna Ciccone
When someone sets out to be controversial or provocative or shocking as an end in itself, I don't think that's a noble goal. -- Rob Bell
I don't intentionally go: 'Ooh, what is provocative,' and try to do that. I just do stuff, and people go: 'Ooh, that's provocative.' -- M.I.A.
Most of us who work as professional futurists never really stop gathering information - you never know when a provocative, potentially disruptive new development might appear. -- Jamais Cascio
The use of military force against Iran would be very dangerous. It would be very provocative. The only thing worse would be Iran being a nuclear power. -- Rudy Giuliani
Darwin wasn't just provocative in saying that we descend from the apes - he didn't go far enough. We are apes in every way, from our long arms and tailless bodies to our habits and temperament. -- Frans de Waal
Read the editorial page of your local paper. It introduces you to opinion and can be terrifically provocative and perhaps a great motivating force for you to get involved in your community, regardless of your political ideology. -- Sarah Jessica Parker
All of us from fertile egg to embryo to corpse, are exactly that: warm, wet, furry animals compelled by the sexuality of our forefathers and foremothers to be, either directly or indirectly, our own exciting and excitable, provocative and provocable selves. -- Lynn Margulis
I had so much fun developing and launching my first fragrance with Avon, so for my second fragrance, I really wanted to add a little more edge. Outspoken Intense is a provocative blend of sexy confidence and daring femininity that captures the thrill and excitement of being centre stage. -- Fergie
I was born in 1949, and by the time I was 10, I figured out that my hope chest was not aimed in the same direction everybody else's was. And that life was going to be very, very complicated. And that I could either be provocative and declamatory, or shy, retiring and scared. -- Dorothy Allison
You never make all things for all people and can't always pander to the broadest denominator. I keep an eye toward doing the themes that interest me. Do they move me? Interest me? Make me think? When I run across something that is provocative in an unsettling way, it appeals to me. -- Edward Norton
Well, you got to remember, bin Laden killed 3,000 Americans and, in some ways, he and his ideology killed tens of thousands of his fellow Muslims, including Pakistanis. I understand that that was provocative and complicated for Pakistan, but only if you accept the idea that he was an acceptable member of Pakistani society. -- Sebastian Junger
I believe that movies are fast becoming antique and dinosauric as a medium. Film is a medium for the over-40s and television has gone the same way. If you're going to look towards the new generation, then of course you're going to have to be a lot more random, spontaneous, irreverent and provocative with your programming. -- Malcolm Mclaren
We can have skills training in mindfulness so that we are using our attention to perceive something in the present moment. This perception is not so latent by fears or projections into the future, or old habits, and then I can actually stir loving-kindness or compassion in skills training too, which can be sort of provocative, I found. -- Sharon Salzberg
Doing a movie about Steve Jobs is just generally a provocative thing to do, whoever does it, and it begs a lot of questioning and skepticism only in that, what is this going to be? What am I going to be looking at? And curiosity as well. I think that's all positive in any film, because you want people to be curious about it. -- Joshua Michael Stern
I like to be provocative. -- Madonna Ciccone
I occasionally watch provocative videos. -- Jay Park
I do not want to answer provocative question. -- Vladimir Putin
I've consciously tried to be provocative and disturbing. -- Judy Dater
I don't like to be provocative for the sake of being provocative. -- Madonna Ciccone
Among provocative, the next best thing to good preaching is bad preaching. -- Ralph Waldo Emerson
To find a script that works with provocative ideas is hard to find. -- John McTiernan
I thought I could get everyone's attention by coming up with something that's provocative. -- Seungri
Nothing I do is salacious or provocative or shocking for the sake of that. -- Rami Malek
There is a need, especially right now in America, to be a bit provocative. -- Maggie Gyllenhaal
I like the most provocative and most surprising partnerships on stage. Intensity and surprise. -- Mikhail Baryshnikov
Beneath the moons' shadowscape, wisdom, women, whiskey and you are a dangerous and provocative combination... -- Virginia Alison
Why is there such passion for any sort of gossipy, provocative sensual stuff? It sells! -- John Densmore
There was really nothing shocking in what Brigitte did, what was provocative was her natural sensuality. -- Roger Vadim
Few realize that the world of modern mathematics is rich with vivid images and provocative ideas. -- Ivars Peterson
It has been very erotic and provocative for people to wonder about my feelings for women. -- Catherine Deneuve
David Cronenberg is the most provocative, original, and consistently excellent North American director of his generation. -- J. Hoberman
I think there probably was a time when I was less provocative. That's when I was married. -- Madonna Ciccone
Barbara Ehrenreich is smart, provocative, funny, and sane in a world that needs more of all four. -- Diane Sawyer
I think the first album cover was considered most provocative. I think that contributed a great deal. -- Julie London
Comedies always need to be provocative and catch your attention in a way that dramas don't have to. -- Rob Lowe
Let me assure you that my intent is not to offend or merely be provocative. I'm simply worried. -- Sam Harris
I think that as I continue to write, my writing I hope will become more controversial and more provocative. -- Christopher Darden
I'm drawn to provocative characters that find themselves in extreme situations. And I think I'm drawn to that consistently. -- Kathryn Bigelow
People have this idea that if you're sexual and beautiful and provocative, then there's nothing else you could possibly offer. -- Madonna Ciccone
Some candidates need to say provocative things that make noise to break through the media muffle and get themselves noticed. -- John Podhoretz
I've seen shows on Showtime, and they're very provocative, if you will, but nothing to the point that's over-the-top or gratuitous. -- Megalyn Echikunwoke
I guess I'm drawn to religion because I can be provocative without harming something people really care about, like their cars. -- George Meyer
Embrace your constraints. They are provocative. They are challenging. They wake you up. They make you more creative. They make you better, -- Biz Stone
...More than almost any current book, DTU will wake the reader from his dogmatic slumbers. It is eminently readable, challenging, and provocative. -- John Hospers
I'm part of what I consider the entertainment industry. For my photos to be entertaining, they have to be provocative and new. -- David LaChapelle
I always thought I was funny, but I was very sensitive, and very provocative just to get a rise out of people. -- Marc Maron
I think it is really important to be in some way provocative -- either intellectually or viscerally -- in the films one makes. -- Peter Greenaway
The language must be careful and must appear effortless. It must not sweat. It must suggest and be provocative at the same time. -- Toni Morrison
Evil is just sort of ultimately boring. The good thing is just complicated. It's more provocative to me and more stimulating to me. -- Toni Morrison
It is a fascinating and provocative thought that a body of water deserves to be considered as an organism in its own right. -- Lyall Watson
I know I'm not the greatest singer or dancer, but that doesn't interest me, I'm interested in being provocative and pushing people's buttons. -- Madonna Ciccone
There's nothing wrong with provocative art work: I even look forward to the day when I can take pictures which will disturb even me. -- Andres Serrano
My message is strong and my belief is strong, in the fact that we can still be provocative and have fun and just get informed. -- Chelsea Handler
Freedom includes the right to say what others may object to and resent... The essence of citizenship is to be tolerant of strong and provocative words. -- John Diefenbaker
I hope Gunter Grass will continue helping the SPD in campaigns and that he will otherwise remain with us as a provocative literary figure, as well. -- Sigmar Gabriel
It's more provocative to say 'might still have sex' because - it doesn't matter to me. There's not, like, one that hurts my feelings and one that doesn't. -- Taylor Swift
That's what's provocative to me - that we can victimize people, we can torture and traumatize people with no consciousness that it is a shameful thing to do. -- Bryan Stevenson
I think the interesting thing about the word 'posh' is that it is so relative; it's quite a provocative title because people have strong feelings about that word. -- Laura Wade
White Collar' is a show about the unlikely pairing of an FBI agent and an ex-con solving smart, glamorous, interesting and provocative crimes in a sometimes very funny way. -- Tim DeKay
I think this show I'm going to do,' Awake,' if it's done well, will not only be provocative and entertaining, but help people. I want to do that. -- Jason Isaacs
Father's ideals became part of me and still are today. His reserve, deeply rooted liberal views, his provocative humour, his passion for work and love of risk are also mine. -- Niki de St. Phalle
The Playtex Secrets survey truly uncovered some thought-provoking and provocative secrets of real American housewives. In fact, many of the findings would make great fodder for a storyline on the show! -- Alfre Woodard
Pop music seems to be the way radio programming has chosen to support female artists. They have chosen not to support a more provocative voice from women, which I find disappointing. -- Shirley Manson
The factor in human life provocative of a noble discontent is the gradual emergence of a sense of criticism, founded upon appreciation of beauty, and of intellectual distinction, and of duty. -- Alfred North Whitehead
I want to show people as they are, not glorified, no shame - fat, bulges, wrinkles and all. I want the work to be disturbing, unsettling, provocative, challenging, and thought provoking. -- Judy Dater
It is true that I am often startled and even angered and repulsed by the strange directions and provocative content of new forms that seem to pop up every few months. -- David Rockefeller
It's still the White House exploding [in "Independence Day"]. It was just so provocative, and no one had ever done it before. I remember when we shot it, how everyone was excited. -- Roland Emmerich
In New York, the theater is a destination point. In Los Angeles, no matter how provocative, how successful, how star-studded the theater event may be, it is, at best, a second-class citizen. -- Jason Alexander
Ahmadinejad is just a buffoon, sort of a clown on the international scene who tries to be provocative so he can get his name in the paper and his face on television. -- Jimmy Carter
I know the aspect of my personality, being the vixen, the heartbreaker and the incredibly provocative girl is a very marketable image, but it's not insincere. You just can't take it seriously. -- Madonna Ciccone
It's hard to be understood when addressing many people at once. How can you ever know if you're being understood? So, I've just started being intelligently provocative. And people take the bait. -- Kenneth Goldsmith
I used to get made fun of for being either too provocative or too eccentric, so I started to tone it down. I didn't fit in, and I felt like a freak. -- Lady Gaga
There are no more ideologies in the authentic sense of false consciousness, only advertisements for the world through its duplication and the provocative lie which does not seek belief but commands silence. -- Theodor Adorno
Irene Diamond's Fertile Ground is a provocative book. It stirs me to vigorous assent. It also triggers wide-eyed disbelief. . . . As it prods me to explosions of disagreement, it also provokes useful thought. -- Janet Lembke
Each generation, we peel back biases that have blinded those before us. The more we know about the past enables us to ask richer and more provocative questions about who we are today. -- David McCullough
Pickover's lively, provocative travel guide takes readers into the fascinating realm of mystic math, from perfectly strange numbers to fractured geometries and other curious nooks and crannies of ancient worlds and modern times. -- Ivars Peterson
Edward Conard provides a provocative interpretation of the causes of the global financial crisis and the policies needed to return to rapid growth. Whether you agree or not, this analysis is well worth reading. -- Nouriel Roubini
I hate the idea that you have to give up anything. I think you can be powerful and still be provocative, you can be smart and have a softness, you can have all of it. -- Michael Kors
Religious symbols should be visible in public space, in a dignified and non-provocative manner. Christmas trees here, Jewish menorahs there and, further along, a minaret - these symbols represent human life in all its diversity. -- Tariq Ramadan

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