1
as in to brush
to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing
accidentally nudged me as they squeezed past
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to urge
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action
the car salesman nudged me into taking a test-drive, even though I had said that I was just looking
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nudge
Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Charlotte Observer, 16 June 2026
Forecasters nudged up their growth outlook, lowered the probability of recession from 33% in April to 25%, and reduced their expectations for the unemployment rate.
—Steve Liesman, CNBC, 16 June 2026
Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 June 2026
Nothing mandatory, mind you; more of a gentle nudge for the undecided.
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nudge
Verb
Herz’s point in the Harvard Medicine piece underscores this emotional states have a strong effect on physical well-being, and scent is one of the fastest ways to nudge an emotional state.
—Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Charlotte Observer, 16 June 2026
Forecasters nudged up their growth outlook, lowered the probability of recession from 33% in April to 25%, and reduced their expectations for the unemployment rate.
—Steve Liesman, CNBC, 16 June 2026
Noun
As spacecraft vibrate, even a tiny nudge between exposures can completely blur delicate solar data.
—Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 10 June 2026
Nothing mandatory, mind you; more of a gentle nudge for the undecided.
—Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 1 June 2026
See All Example Sentences for nudge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nudge
Verb
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The striker brushed off criticism for his performance in Portugal’s first World Cup match to star in a brilliant 5-0 win over Uzbekistan yesterday.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
24 June 2026
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And, of course, Vitello finished the circus by brushing the whole thing under the rug.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
24 June 2026
Verb
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Rodríguez also said the country’s entire public and private healthcare network had been activated to treat the injured, urging doctors, nurses and other medical personnel to report immediately to their workplaces.—
Antonio María Delgado,
Miami Herald,
25 June 2026
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Weber copped to working with the Wu administration to craft his $8-9 million amendment package, which Wu’s chief financial officer urged the Council to accept without additional amendments to avoid layoffs and loss of revenue.—
Gayla Cawley,
Boston Herald,
24 June 2026
Noun
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The country also has made a massive push to switch to electric vehicles, which reduced Chinese oil consumption by 1 million barrels per day, the International Energy Agency estimates.—
David Goldman,
CNN Money,
25 June 2026
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The push to modernize North Korea’s military comes at a moment of ever-growing confidence for Kim, whose regime has seen its economy rebound since the pandemic, while his expanding weapons program has strengthened its position as a de facto nuclear state.—
Stella Kim,
NBC news,
24 June 2026
Verb
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After kissing and dancing on Caleb McDaniel, Bryce Dettloff and Zach Georgiou, her level of effort seemingly dropped off for the rest of the male cast.—
KiMi Robinson,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
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Eventually, Ferrel Onder went through with the shoot, with the male model kissing her on the neck instead of on the mouth in the final product.—
Joey Nolfi,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 June 2026
Verb
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Nick Engen and Taylor Calmus CBS To help encourage fathers navigating similar experiences, Taylor Calmus, creator of the popular online Dude Dad brand, visited the NICU ahead of Father's Day to surprise Engen and other dads with gift bags filled with supplies.—
Dillon Thomas,
CBS News,
20 June 2026
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You are encouraged to sit and lounge and read.—
Rachel Brodsky,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
Noun
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This Jamaican restaurant, located just off Main Street, brings Caribbean flavors to Mackinac Island’s solid rotation of restaurants, with planked whitefish and jerk chicken sandwiches.—
Iona Brannon,
Travel + Leisure,
13 June 2026
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After Game 4, jerks were throwing things at Victor Wembanyama.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
13 June 2026
Verb
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Sensory gardens with calming nature sounds, plants kids are welcome to touch and benches are available to help guests reset in a less stimulating environment.—
Eve Chen,
USA Today,
19 June 2026
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On June 10, Mastercard launched Agent Pay for Machines, a payment layer for the high-frequency, low-value transactions machines run — the fractions of a cent traditional cards can't touch.—
Renana Ashkenazi,
Forbes.com,
19 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Nudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nudge. Accessed 25 Jun. 2026.
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