as in incentives
something that arouses action or activity
the threat of skin cancer—not to mention the prospect of wrinkles—should be sufficient goad for using sunscreen
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in urges
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
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of goads
Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
The protagonist then goads him into drinking enough to agree to spending the afternoon at her lake house.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
Using her charm offensive, Hedda goads naive spouses to cheat, recovering alcoholics to drink and depressives to wander off into the darkness with a revolver.
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Dawn goads Joe about Ted, suggesting that Joe’s late father, who was also sheriff, would have taken action.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025
Reynolds goads Miller by sending a photo of himself getting cozy with Sophia, and in a moment both lurid and laughable, the prisoner visualizes the two of them getting naked and going at it right outside the cell.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Noun
To Robin Wright’s multimillionaire gallery owner Laura, her son’s new girlfriend is a sleazy opportunist, a gold digger who lies about her academic and professional credentials and goads Laura by going down on Daniel (Laurie Davidson) in Laura’s house with the door open.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
When the two wind up at a random Easter brunch, Winfried goads Ines into karaoke.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026
The protagonist then goads him into drinking enough to agree to spending the afternoon at her lake house.
—Megan McCluskey, Time, 5 Mar. 2026
Using her charm offensive, Hedda goads naive spouses to cheat, recovering alcoholics to drink and depressives to wander off into the darkness with a revolver.
—Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
Dawn goads Joe about Ted, suggesting that Joe’s late father, who was also sheriff, would have taken action.
—Richard Brody, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025
Reynolds goads Miller by sending a photo of himself getting cozy with Sophia, and in a moment both lurid and laughable, the prisoner visualizes the two of them getting naked and going at it right outside the cell.
—David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goads
Noun
-
Other approaches try to battle the countervailing incentives with fancier math.—
Joseph Howlett,
Scientific American,
11 May 2026
-
To fill the void left by streamers, Nigeria is attracting new productions and investment through tax incentives and industry reforms.—
Daron James,
Los Angeles Times,
11 May 2026
Verb
-
Kaaoush urges homeowners to understand insurance coverage before disaster strikes, noting that insurers are not required to proactively warn policyholders if they are underinsured.—
Kait Hanson,
Southern Living,
11 May 2026
-
Letter urges reconsideration of design In a letter to church elders, Hubbard argues that newer LDS temple designs suggest tall steeples are not always necessary.—
Erin Jones,
CBS News,
8 May 2026
Verb
-
The shower curtain opens, revealing an old woman, who stabs and decapitates Mary.—
Therie Hendrey-Seabrook,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
18 Mar. 2026
-
But this person who was a friend, who owes her career to me, just stabs me in the back.—
Maer Roshan,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
All through the park, competitors and onlookers hit vapes and shout tips and encouragements into trees.—
Calin Van Paris,
Outside,
19 Mar. 2026
-
In October 2024 ahead of her own stay at MSG, Billie Eilish recorded encouragements to take the subways for environmental benefits.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Responding to comments, asking for feedback, and giving shout-outs to active viewers fosters a sense of community and encourages continued engagement.—
Adam Rumanek,
Rolling Stone,
15 May 2026
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The moon in Taurus encourages you to go with the flow and stop forcing an outcome.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
15 May 2026
Verb
-
What few efforts do exist to address alcohol’s harms have been overshadowed by the opioid crisis, a parallel drug epidemic that attracts more funding, spurs more policy change, and garners more media attention despite being vastly less deadly.—
Lev Facher,
STAT,
12 May 2026
-
The Handling Speciale, at least on paper, only spurs that sentiment on.—
Viju Mathew,
Robb Report,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Kym is the family fuckup and a guilty party to its biggest tragedy but also constantly pokes the bear as its selfish verbal assassin.—
Chris Feil,
Vulture,
1 May 2026
-
Instead, the robot simply pokes through it.—
Mrigakshi Dixit,
Interesting Engineering,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Each pilgrim is drawn to Hyperion for a private reckoning with the Shrike, and their motivations reveal a spectrum of human concerns.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
15 May 2026
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Despite engaging performances, though, the characters’ motivations don’t always ring true, leading to some frustrating and unconvincing plot developments.—
Emily McClanathan,
Chicago Tribune,
14 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Goads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goads. Accessed 18 May. 2026.
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