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
Relevance
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
Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025
There are tales from Catholic high school — in which Alan Cumming has provided the voice of a disapproving priest — and from musical-theater conservatory, during which Mulvaney gently goads one of the (few) straight men in her audience to perform trans allyship by playing her crush.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 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
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
There are tales from Catholic high school — in which Alan Cumming has provided the voice of a disapproving priest — and from musical-theater conservatory, during which Mulvaney gently goads one of the (few) straight men in her audience to perform trans allyship by playing her crush.
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 8 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
-
The Russian state has introduced incentives for women who have three or more children, including lump-sum payments, tax breaks and state benefits.—
Holly Ellyatt,
CNBC,
24 Feb. 2026
-
At the very least, this populist President would have demanded compensation for displaced workers in the form of proper retraining programs, relocation grants, and expanded incentives for businesses to invest in depressed regions.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
At the station, Manuelito urges Leaphorn to tell Chee about his decision to leave.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
23 Feb. 2026
-
Stout, bluesy guitar and a pummeling rhythm lead to McBryde turning in a ferocious, fearless vocal, singing about a litany of vices and urges that stay steeped her bloodline.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Bautista stabs and shoots his assailants in an operatic eruption of violence that is done in a single, extended shot.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
5 Feb. 2026
-
Milo tries to be a hero, trying to use pepper spray on Morgan, but Morgan stabs and kills him.—
Barry Levitt,
Time,
21 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
Hints, counsels, warnings, remonstrations, even encouragements are, in the end, of limited value.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
The hotel encourages guests to turn off the lights, climate control systems, and water whenever they are not needed in an effort to conserve resources.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
20 Feb. 2026
-
That directional pressure mirrors the body’s natural flow patterns and encourages fluid to move centrally so it can be processed and eliminated.—
Avery Newmark,
AJC.com,
20 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Stella’s restless energy in wanting to fix things spurs her to arrange an impromptu trip for them to Amsterdam.—
Robert Abele,
Los Angeles Times,
20 Feb. 2026
-
If this new stadium spurs surrounding economic development, not to mention environmental cleanup, there will be benefits for the entire region.—
The Editorial Board,
Chicago Tribune,
19 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Amazon also strikes a nerve with an ad starring Chris Hemsworth that pokes fun of people’s fears of AI.—
Dee-Ann Durbin,
Fortune,
8 Feb. 2026
-
Cucurella lands on the rebound and pokes in.—
Mark Carey,
New York Times,
5 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
In a moment when success is measured in eyeballs reached, the motivations that first inspired the prominent role of debate in American society have been inverted.—
Talya Zax,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
-
Heldman and Nicholson’s lucid, intelligent script thus assigns characters very different, more nuanced motivations from those we are used to in iterations of this story.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Goads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goads. Accessed 27 Feb. 2026.
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