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
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
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
Example Sentences
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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
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goading
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.
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Supporters gathered at the Georgia State Capitol recently urging legislators to override the governor's veto.
Verb
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Indeed, when Orion disappears below the western horizon during spring evenings, the Scorpion is poking his head up in the southeast.
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Kansas City isn't much of a pedestrian city, but now, blue and green specks of fans dot the sidewalks, like wildflowers poking through a crack in the pavement.
Verb
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Tree was recognizable for his bright fashion, mullet haircut with prominent bangs, thin mustache and encouraging outlook.
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Bad choices like that are a through-line for this whole story, all the way back to Otto Hightower encouraging his daughter, Alicent, to befriend Rhaenyra’s father, King Viserys.
Verb
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Geller, a former Democratic state lawmaker and county party chair, said that state policies on school choice and federal action spurring deportations could be detractors.
-
Weiss-Wolf is inspired by the pace at which states have passed menopause legislation, and the potential for spurring federal laws.
Verb
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Messi welcomed the ball into his run, cushioning it with his thigh and then — sublimely, almost in slow motion — nudging it ahead with his left foot.
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Families can play a vital role in nudging dads towards these life-extending steps.
Verb
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Payton now will be in the Parcells role, a Super Bowl-winning coach with an endless reservoir of experience pushing and prodding a young assistant with clear potential and the edge that comes with it.
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The steady march of progress, as demonstrated by these latest research papers, is prodding organizations with the most to lose to err on the side of Q Day—the day a cryptographically relevant quantum computer arrives—coming sooner rather than later.
Verb
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Ditto for the subsequent scene of young Santa stabbing her mother to death.
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Harrison Jamal Greer, 54, is charged with murder after allegedly stabbing and killing a man.
Verb
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Cape Verde is not punching above its weight on heart.
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Court records reveal he was subsequently arrested for throwing a rock at people, and later for punching someone else.
Cite this Entry
“Goading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goading. Accessed 27 Jun. 2026.
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