Meaning & use
trolling
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Deliberately posting provocative, insincere, or offensive messages online to upset people or provoke a reaction.
See it in a sentence
The company had to disable comments after being flooded with trolling.
He was clearly trolling when he claimed the earth was flat just to start an argument.
A note on using this word
Trolling now has a well-established online meaning distinct from its older sense, fishing by trailing a baited line behind a slow-moving boat.
Words with a similar meaning
baiting
Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.
Another way to use it
2. verb
A method of fishing by trailing a baited line behind a slowly moving boat.
They spent the afternoon trolling for salmon along the coast.
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