1
as in kisses
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 urges
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
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of nudges
Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
One nudges the instructor, who is talking to a walk-in at the front desk.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Loneliness is the healthy emotion that nudges us to get off the couch and go be with people.
—Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Starbucks, for example, nudges users toward loading funds onto a digital gift card by offering more rewards.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Question marks and nudges to explain.
—Jane Ciabattari
august 19, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
Noun
His arrival stirs faint whispers under the Song statues and quietly nudges Hongmei’s buried past toward the surface.
—Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 19 Sep. 2025
One nudges the instructor, who is talking to a walk-in at the front desk.
—Matthew Shen Goodman, Harpers Magazine, 19 Sep. 2025
Loneliness is the healthy emotion that nudges us to get off the couch and go be with people.
—Dev Patnaik, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
Starbucks, for example, nudges users toward loading funds onto a digital gift card by offering more rewards.
—Gordon G. Chang, MSNBC Newsweek, 22 Aug. 2025
Question marks and nudges to explain.
—Jane Ciabattari
august 19, Literary Hub, 19 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nudges
Verb
-
From loving social media posts to kisses on the red carpet, Urban and Kidman appeared head-over-heels for each other.—
Brendan Le,
PEOPLE,
29 Sep. 2025
-
The hugs, kisses and belly rubs are not ending for Sgt.—
Craig Shoup,
Nashville Tennessean,
28 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The Full Moon in Aries will highlight home and family dynamics, and urges you to release outdated patterns of control or resentment that might be keeping you from feeling fully happy.—
Meghan Rose,
Glamour,
1 Oct. 2025
-
His insubordination is so appalling that Stella urges Pascal to remove him from Firehouse 51.—
Claire Franken,
TVLine,
1 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Netanyahu knows that his political future is dependent on keeping far-right members of his coalition on board – and that dynamic has undone past pushes for the end of the war.—
Asher Kaufman,
The Conversation,
30 Sep. 2025
-
This can be as simple as bodyweight movements, resistance bands or dumbbells, focusing on compound/functional movements like squats, pushes and pulls.—
Melissa Rudy,
FOXNews.com,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
But on the day of Dale’s memorial, everyone brushes their hair, puts on the right clothes, and plays big, grieving family.—
Amanda Whiting,
Vulture,
24 Sep. 2025
-
Despite the mess in her apartment, the man, like everyone else in her life, brushes off her fears as the exaggerations of an overactive imagination.—
Marya E. Gates,
IndieWire,
9 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Avoid over feeding plants, which encourages foliage to grow at the expense of blooms.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Guadagnino encourages our doubts, shooting Maggie in exaggerated horror-movie closeups set to the doomy bass notes and shrieking winds of Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross’s score.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The sequel sees Odenkirk’s Hutch Mansell attempt to take a family vacation, only to cross paths with violent jerks played by Colin Hanks and Sharon Stone.—
Brian Tallerico,
Vulture,
22 Sep. 2025
-
The mechanism feels smooth and sturdy—no awkward jerks or wobbles.—
Zoë Sessums,
Architectural Digest,
4 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Continue reading … OPINION THOR MORTENSEN – China's malign influence touches every aspect of US life.—
,
FOXNews.com,
3 Oct. 2025
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The director also touches on his own personal connection to the material through his childhood experience of being forced to flee the Duvalier dictatorship in Haiti.—
Melanie Goodfellow,
Deadline,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Inside you’ll find fruit jams and pastes from tangy pineapple and strawberry to pumpkin, fig or even custard.—
Tiffany Acosta,
AZCentral.com,
1 Oct. 2025
-
No hot water baths or pressure canning, the technique uses modern day refrigerators and freezers to store small batches of homemade jams, condiments and spreads, plus chutneys, pickles, relishes and ketchups.—
Cathy Thomas,
Oc Register,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Nudges.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nudges. Accessed 8 Oct. 2025.
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