provoke vs irritate

provoke and irritate both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
provoke	No	No	Yes	No
irritate	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, irritate is a hypernym of provoke; that is, irritate is a word with a broader meaning than provoke:

Other hypernyms of provoke include annoy, bother, chafe, devil, get at, get to, gravel, nark, nettle, rag, rile, vex.

provoke (verb)	irritate (verb)
provide the needed stimulus for	excite to an abnormal condition, or chafe or inflame
evoke or provoke to appear or occur	excite to some characteristic action or condition, such as motion, contraction, or nervous impulse, by the application of a stimulus
call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)	cause annoyance in; disturb, especially by minor irritations
annoy continually or chronically