PRODDING Synonyms: 60 Similar and Opposite Words

prodding

verb

present participle of prod

as in poking

to urge or push forward with or as if with a pointed object kept prodding the sheep with a staff to move along faster

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in urging

to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action a public outcry eventually prodded the politicians into action

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of prodding Renowned Chilean filmmaker Valeria Sarmiento has a long history of prodding at memory in her films. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 9 July 2026 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. — Joseph Person, New York Times, 24 June 2026 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. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 23 June 2026 Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has been vocal about prodding the BOJ to keep hiking. — William Pesek, Forbes.com, 19 June 2026 The song is a reflection of the pressure on Joel to follow up on his success in the late 70s, and the prodding synthesizer riff adds to the claustrophobic nature of the tune. — Austin Perry Outkick, FOXNews.com, 9 May 2026 Kuhner is a writer, and, a few months after his family arrived, neighbors started prodding him to take over the local bookstore, which was being sold. — Emma Green, New Yorker, 17 Apr. 2026 And six years later, Donovan is still prodding and cajoling the forward to crash the boards and control his dribble and contribute physically to the game. — Julia Poe, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026 Some say his solo effort against Manchester City in 2021 was the pinnacle, when the winger waltzed past one of the best defenses in the world before prodding his shot into the side-netting. — Ben Church, CNN Money, 25 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for prodding

Verb

At first glance, corals present as little more than colorful rocks — piles of lobes, stalagmites, and branches poking out from the seafloor.

— Marlowe Starling, Quanta Magazine, 5 Aug. 2026
Carpenter suggests applying it to vertical surfaces, or using soaked cotton balls in open glass jars (or poking holes in the lids to allow the fumes to escape).

— The Spruce, The Spruce, 4 Aug. 2026

Definition of poking

Verb

In June, the New Jersey attorney general filed a lawsuit against the site’s operator, The GEO Group, urging a court to close the facility until the state could inspect it over longstanding allegations of inhumane conditions.

— Alex Stambaugh, CNN Money, 4 Aug. 2026
On Semafor’s Mixed Signals podcast in July, former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy reflected on whether the Biden administration took the right approach to public health communication by urging the tech platforms to regulate health misinformation.

— Max Tani, semafor.com, 3 Aug. 2026

Definition of urging

Verb

Mining companies turned to the thinner seams that remained, digging through mountains to reach and then mine them.

— Howard Berkes, NPR, 5 Aug. 2026
There’s more than a bunch of rocks to be found when digging deep underground, but even researchers were surprised after a recent survey beneath the Great Lakes.

— Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 29 July 2026

Definition of digging

Verb

China has moved to bar companionship chatbots from encouraging emotional reliance, which means a regulator can decide that a relationship somebody depends on will stop existing.

— Jason Snyder, Forbes.com, 8 Aug. 2026
Peridot acts as a buffer for Virgos, helping to soften their tendency for self-criticism and encouraging a more optimistic outlook.

— Kelsey Stiegman, InStyle, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of encouraging

Verb

But that effort has moved slowly in the months since, spurring frustration among some White House and health officials that HHS doesn’t yet have any significant progress for the administration to tout, two administration officials said.

— Adam Cancryn, CNN Money, 7 Aug. 2026
What seemed like a low barrier for starting a company and finding investors — spurring viral storylines around 19-year-old blockchain CEOs and other such novelties — has given way to a high sense of precarity for people entering today’s arena.

— Alexander Onukwue, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026

Definition of spurring

Verb

Brennan was previously convicted of second-degree murder with a deadly weapon after stabbing her 76-year-old mother to death with a butcher knife in Hollywood in 2014, according to a probable cause affidavit.

— Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 6 Aug. 2026
Sanders admitted to stabbing her sons to death in February 2018.

— Mike Toole, CBS News, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of stabbing

Verb

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

Definition of goading

Browse Nearby Words

prodders

prodding

prodigal

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Style

“Prodding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prodding. Accessed 9 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of prodding

verb

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