Synonyms of goading

goading

verb

present participle of goad

1

as in urging

to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action

tried to goad me into auditioning for the play

Synonyms & Similar Words

• urging
• encouraging
• nudging
• prompting
• prodding
• exhorting
• spurring
• coaxing
• pushing
• propelling
• egging (on)
• pressing
• stimulating
• provoking
• cajoling
• imploring
• driving
• hurrying
• beseeching
• pressuring
• wheedling
• importuning
• hustling
• rushing
• inciting
• fomenting
• needling
• instigating
• nagging
• adjuring
• stirring (up)
• blandishing
• high-pressuring
• soft-soaping

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• discouraging
• deterring
• dissuading
• checking
• restraining
• curbing
• inhibiting
• braking
• constraining
• holding back

2

as in poking

to urge or push forward with or as if with a pointed object

goading the horse forward into the stall

Synonyms & Similar Words

• poking
• spurring
• prodding
• stabbing
• punching
• digging
• nudging
• jabbing
• knocking
• propelling
• jogging
• pricking
• drilling
• sticking
• chucking
• puncturing
• driving
• perforating
• piercing
• boring
• haling

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of goading

His Dahl is constantly goading people, driving them right up to the edge of their tolerance. — Sara Holdren, Vulture, 24 Mar. 2026

So, does Roan deserve all the credit for softening the nature of these carpets, where dozens of photographers gather to scream goading or even offensive remarks at talent just to get their attention? — Rebecca Ford, Vanity Fair, 12 Mar. 2026

Reporters looking to stir up trouble in the press room were goading American players, particularly those with foreign-sounding last names. — Beth Herman, Boston Herald, 6 Feb. 2026

Julian and Neil take to goading and championing the understandably hangdog Matt. — Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026

Agents made several arrests in supermarket parking lots and at tamale stands while goading angry residents who confronted them and threatening to unleash tear gas. — Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 23 Jan. 2026

The mind thrills to imagine a genderless prophet among the brocades and buckskin breeches of Revolutionary America, weirding out the normies, sticking a flower in the barrel of a musket, and goading the new nation to let its hair down—literally. — Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 30 Dec. 2025

Anthropic’s Claude wanted to know whether my headache was tension-related, due to sinus pressure, or something else entirely—hardly a goading question. — Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025

Christiaan Verbeek’s score is highly effective, ranging from ominous passages propelled by drums and goading percussion to turbulent strings steadily cranked up in intensity. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019