1
as in urged
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action
tried to goad me into auditioning for the play
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Recent Examples of goaded
Her ups and downs were a regular punch line on late-night talk shows, starting with her first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1985, when she was goaded into agreeing to lose 15 lbs.
—
Eileen Finan, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
Indeed, that now seems like the least likely, but most optimistic, conclusion—that a group of people who realize they’re being goaded into participation in an algorithmic fun house decide to opt out of a psychologically painful discourse trap altogether.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Nov. 2025
Democrats saw him as a master of dark arts, beholden to his former pals in the oil industry and a warmonger who goaded the nation to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to help his benefactors.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 20 Nov. 2025
In one instance, Holmes alleged, Lorch goaded Holmes into a storage room and told him to climb a ladder to a lofted space to retrieve some uniforms.
—Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Instead, he is now being goaded into the impossible retaking of land Ukraine could not get back in the summer of 2023, during a heavily prepped counter-offensive.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
His facial expressions and reactions to Lynch’s promos and her being goaded into this WrestlePalooza mixed tag team match suggest that there are more problems to come for the powerful heel duo.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
In the course of the conversation, his old friend goaded him into trying his hand at womenswear.
—Ana Karina Zatarain, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
During her trial, prosecutors said Rodriguez had goaded the officers for video views.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
Eileen Finan, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025
Indeed, that now seems like the least likely, but most optimistic, conclusion—that a group of people who realize they’re being goaded into participation in an algorithmic fun house decide to opt out of a psychologically painful discourse trap altogether.
—Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 24 Nov. 2025
Democrats saw him as a master of dark arts, beholden to his former pals in the oil industry and a warmonger who goaded the nation to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to help his benefactors.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 20 Nov. 2025
In one instance, Holmes alleged, Lorch goaded Holmes into a storage room and told him to climb a ladder to a lofted space to retrieve some uniforms.
—Luke Cyphers, Sportico.com, 17 Oct. 2025
Instead, he is now being goaded into the impossible retaking of land Ukraine could not get back in the summer of 2023, during a heavily prepped counter-offensive.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025
His facial expressions and reactions to Lynch’s promos and her being goaded into this WrestlePalooza mixed tag team match suggest that there are more problems to come for the powerful heel duo.
—Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
In the course of the conversation, his old friend goaded him into trying his hand at womenswear.
—Ana Karina Zatarain, New Yorker, 19 Sep. 2025
During her trial, prosecutors said Rodriguez had goaded the officers for video views.
—Harrison Mantas, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goaded
Verb
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Industry groups such as the Federation of American Hospitals have been vocal about the threat to hospitals’ financial health and have urged Congress to extend the enhanced subsidies, which take the form of tax credits.—
Blake Farmer,
Miami Herald,
13 Jan. 2026
-
Petek also urged lawmakers to significantly address the state’s structural deficit, which would take either cutting spending or increasing tax revenues.—
Andrew Graham,
Sacbee.com,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Roughly one hundred Uffizi staffers staged a demonstration in the courtyard of the venerable Florence institution on January 4, protesting an effective layoff of the museum’s casual workers spurred by a change in service managers.—
News Desk,
Artforum,
8 Jan. 2026
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Estrada said his experience in caregiving was spurred by his father, whose occasional visits were sometimes accompanied by violence, particularly toward his mother.—
Janice Neumann,
Chicago Tribune,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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But Flint encouraged people to attend the commissioners’ court meeting and speak against the Comanche Circle proposal.—
Elizabeth Campbell,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
13 Jan. 2026
-
All retailers are being encouraged to honor customer claims.—
Austen Erblat,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Banfield stabbed his wife, according to prosecutors.—
Eric Levenson,
CNN Money,
11 Jan. 2026
-
On Monday night last week, a man and woman were stabbed on the platform for the 69th Street Red Line stop.—
Natalie McMillan,
CBS News,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As if nudged, Olie raised her head and began to speak.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Jan. 2026
-
Young, at the time working as a pizza maker at a Wegmans grocery store, briefly opened the door and then tried to shut it, taking out the knife when McEvilley nudged it back.—
Sheetal Banchariya,
New York Daily News,
6 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Specifically, McCarthy said she's constantly been prodded about her body.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
FOXNews.com,
7 Dec. 2025
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That revelation prodded insurgents in British possessions from Ireland to Sierra Leone to take to the streets to assert their own ambitions for economic and political autonomy over the decades to come.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
7 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Manette poked fun at his famous recliner For over 35 years, Curt has settled into the same teal Bradington Young recliner to eat, watch TV and work out football plays.—
Emily Blackwood,
PEOPLE,
10 Jan. 2026
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Fox grabbed Vanderbilt to walk him away, but the Lakers forward poked Sochan in the face with his left index finger.—
Oc Register,
Oc Register,
8 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With a merciless 56-22 thumping of Oregon in the Peach Bowl, the Hoosiers punched their ticket to their first national championship game appearance in program history.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
10 Jan. 2026
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Jenkins brutally stomped and punched Coto, who was severely injured and put on life support.—
Tony Aiello,
CBS News,
8 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Goaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goaded. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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