1
2
as in to urge
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action
a public outcry eventually prodded the politicians into action
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in stimulus
Related Words
Dissimilar Words
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of prod
Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2025
Amid the devastation, first responders and volunteers trudge into muck and mud, scramble over debris piles and check emotions to poke and prod and chop and saw in search of still-missing victims.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC news, 7 July 2025
Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
The brewery company lost a financial partner recently, a departure that prodded the partners to embark on the complete shutdown of the business and the dismissal of all its workers.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prod
Verb
Schenk led Sunday’s search party and has been working with Moore’s family to track down leads and prod Sacramento police and local leaders to act with more urgency to find the missing man.
—Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 21 July 2025
Amid the devastation, first responders and volunteers trudge into muck and mud, scramble over debris piles and check emotions to poke and prod and chop and saw in search of still-missing victims.
—Suzanne Gamboa, NBC news, 7 July 2025
Noun
In some cases, like my request for headache tips, bots end their messages with prodding follow-up questions.
—Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
The brewery company lost a financial partner recently, a departure that prodded the partners to embark on the complete shutdown of the business and the dismissal of all its workers.
—George Avalos, Mercury News, 16 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prod
Verb
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The Cowboys poked a hole in the Jets’ balloon after the Hall fumble.—
Zack Rosenblatt,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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An alligator’s head could be seen poking out of the water just a few feet away as Whaley prepared to take his shot, but the 30-year-old quickly brought the ball back onto dry land and escaped with par on the 11th green.—
Reuters,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Rachel Goldberg-Polin emerged as a moral voice, urging an end to the war and healing for Israel's internal divisions.—
Romina Ruiz-Goiriena,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
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Lisi urged people to remain vigilant.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
4 Oct. 2025
Noun
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To him, animal behavior was largely based on stimulus and response.—
Danny Robb,
JSTOR Daily,
1 Oct. 2025
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The receptors in your hands respond to myriad stimuli-like pressures—vibrations in sync with 15 different families of neurons.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Whether that will result in a new round of talks with stakeholders — studios, agencies, guilds, estates and more — or spur a round of lawsuits like the legal salvos lobbed by Disney, Universal and Warner Bros.—
Erik Hayden,
HollywoodReporter,
5 Oct. 2025
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The two events spurred sweeping conversations about The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and lingering anti-Mormonism against its members.—
Dinah Voyles Pulver,
USA Today,
4 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Attendees left the event with tourniquets or trauma bandages and were encouraged to reach out to Bound Tree Medical to purchase additional supplies for their congregations.—
Nour Rahal,
Freep.com,
4 Oct. 2025
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Deadheading encourages chocolate cosmos plants to produce more flower buds, keeping plants productive.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Beyond being fun, toys help dogs develop instincts, provide stimulation, and strengthen the bond between pets and their owners.—
Lucy Notarantonio,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
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These interactive toys—including a double-sided picture book, soft rainbow kicker, and plush hanging toys—offer lots of stimulation and tons of fun.—
Pamela Brill,
Parents,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The admission came the day after two Jewish worshipers were killed and three others seriously injured in a car ramming and stabbing attack outside the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in the Manchester suburb of Crumpsall on Yom Kippur, the holiest day in Judaism.—
Peter Wilkinson,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
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One of the victims had been stabbed several times in the head and was taken to a hospital for treatment, police said.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hull says that some effective safety tweaks to existing chatbots would be relatively simple — they could be programmed to nudge a user to disengage during late-night hours, for instance.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
1 Oct. 2025
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Their losses could nudge Izzo toward some lineups where Carr is at the 3 and the spacing really suffers.—
CJ Moore,
New York Times,
30 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prod. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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