1
as in to brush
to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing
accidentally nudged me as they squeezed past
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to urge
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action
the car salesman nudged me into taking a test-drive, even though I had said that I was just looking
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of nudge
Steve Bowsher, Foreign Affairs, 24 Feb. 2025
Trump tried to nudge him toward some actual news items.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2025
Perhaps our bee friend will nudge it out of the way.
—New York Times Games, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
Lindholm nudged him back, just before Morgan Geekie ripped the tying one-timer into the net with 1:11 remaining in regulation.
—Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nudge
Verb
Instead, Washington would use its SWF to identify priorities in commercial technology and nudge U.S. startups toward those goals—combining the interests of the nation with the dynamism and innovation of private investors.
—Steve Bowsher, Foreign Affairs, 24 Feb. 2025
Trump tried to nudge him toward some actual news items.
—Antonia Hitchens, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2025
Perhaps our bee friend will nudge it out of the way.
—New York Times Games, New York Times, 23 Feb. 2025
Lindholm nudged him back, just before Morgan Geekie ripped the tying one-timer into the net with 1:11 remaining in regulation.
—Fluto Shinzawa, The Athletic, 23 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for nudge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nudge
Verb
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Like a spa day for high-end fabric, the pieces are brushed, steamed and misted back to life.—
Violet Goldstone,
WWD,
7 Mar. 2025
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And speaking of looks, the 2.0 also now has brushed nickel control panels.—
Ben Coxworth,
New Atlas,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
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On Tuesday morning Vice President J.D. Vance huddled in a closed door conference meeting with House Republicans and urged them to back the measure.—
Claudia Grisales,
NPR,
11 Mar. 2025
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But rights groups welcomed Duterte’s detention and urged the Philippines to hand the former president over to the ICC.—
Kathleen Magramo,
CNN,
11 Mar. 2025
Noun
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However, his push to cut the federal workforce is affecting D.C.’s finances.—
Mya Abraham,
VIBE.com,
5 Mar. 2025
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His push to bring workers back has been fraught with logistical challenges, with reports of agencies struggling to accommodate the shift.—
Nik Popli,
TIME,
5 Mar. 2025
Verb
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Busch and his team would love to pose for more pictures kissing the bricks at IMS following Sunday’s race.—
Clifton Brown,
Indianapolis Star,
17 July 2017
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The trainer turns and kisses one of the man-eaters on the nose.—
Holly Millea,
Smithsonian,
29 June 2017
Verb
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On the positive side, the increase in applications from students of color and the growing diversity of the applicant pool are encouraging signs of progress toward more significant equity in higher education.—
Scott White,
Forbes,
15 Mar. 2025
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Community Board 2 voted against the project in May, hoping to encourage the state liquor board to deny the liquor license, though community boards have no actual blocking power.—
Bridget Read,
Curbed,
14 Mar. 2025
Noun
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On that note…being concise doesn’t mean being a total jerk either.—
Jenna Ryu,
SELF,
5 Mar. 2025
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Rockwell's Officer Dixon, a mama’s boy with a screw loose and a history of torturing Black prisoners, is a target of her ire − that is, until the actor carefully adds layers to what could be a one-note jerk. 14.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
28 Feb. 2025
Verb
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Novelty, touch me surfaces, remarkable rich and playful colors livened up our buying prospects for fall.—
Luisa Zargani,
WWD,
2 Mar. 2025
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Brody briefly touched on the kiss while reflecting on his Oscar win during a 2015 interview with Vanity Fair.—
Wesley Stenzel,
EW.com,
1 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nudge. Accessed 18 Mar. 2025.
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