"provoke grief" is a correct and usable phrase in written English.
It means to cause someone to feel sadness or sorrow. Example: The loss of her beloved pet, Max, provoked deep grief in Maria's heart.
Neymar was absent, and his absence provoked grief.
Murder provokes grief, rage, pain, and suffering and often incites more, often misdirected.
The archaeologist and historian reportedly opposed the 2011 uprising against the country's president, Bashar al-Assad, but his murder has provoked grief and condemnation from regime loyalists and opposition activists.
The loss of a loved one may provoke complicated grief, which is characterized by intense symptoms of yearning, sadness, or loss of life meaning.
A1 Mr. Arafat's death provoked waves of grief and elation across the Middle East.
The attack provoked outrage and grief in India with protests across the country.
LONDON — An arsonist's attack on a Shiite mosque in a Brussels suburb that left its 46-year-old imam dead provoked shock and grief among Belgium's Muslim population on Tuesday, but the authorities there attributed the attack to tensions between the Shiite and Sunni communities — not a new case of the so-called Islamophobia hostility that has been rising in Europe.
The fire killed six firefighters, provoking weeks of grief and recrimination.
Fo's death provoked an outpouring of grief.
Her death last year provoked an outpouring of grief and a clamour for her son to run for president, despite his relative obscurity.
