1
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
2
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
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Recent Examples of prodding
In some cases, like my request for headache tips, bots end their messages with prodding follow-up questions.
—
Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
Wissa was an important signing, someone to take the pressure off Woltemade while simultaneously prodding him.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Lila Shroff, The Atlantic, 22 Sep. 2025
Wissa was an important signing, someone to take the pressure off Woltemade while simultaneously prodding him.
—George Caulkin, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prodding
Verb
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Meanwhile, Bad Bunny has commented little, save for an SNL monologue poking fun at the situation.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
12 Oct. 2025
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The bit kicked off by poking fun at the Senate hearing that took place earlier this week.—
McKinley Franklin,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Some of the survivors have been urging authorities for more than five years to bring him to justice.—
Meena Duerson,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
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Ellison's office's lack of substantive response to the ultimatum comes despite the fact that hundreds of Minnesota school board members penned an open letter urging the state to comply with Trump and change its policies to keep males out of girls sports.—
Jackson Thompson,
FOXNews.com,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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To deter digging pests, gardeners can use chicken wire, plant more bulbs than needed, or choose larger bulbs like daffodils.—
Paul Cappiello,
Louisville Courier Journal,
10 Oct. 2025
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But digging deeper, the latest fundraising haul offers a glimpse into the race’s key players and the state of the election to replace Hancock in Austin.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The idea behind the guide was that encouraging people to take more road trips would increase the demand for tires.—
Michael Salerno,
AZCentral.com,
12 Oct. 2025
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Through his work, Strachan examines histories often overlooked in mainstream narratives, particularly those connected to the Black diaspora, encouraging viewers to reconsider which histories are celebrated and how they are represented.—
Ryma Chikhoune,
Footwear News,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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One piece of legislation spurring the industry to action on traceability is the United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA), which bars imports tied to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.—
Sarah Jones,
Sourcing Journal,
7 Oct. 2025
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Advanced reactors are moving from concept to construction, power demand is spurring restarts, utilities are planning license renewals and uprates for the existing fleet, and federal policy continues to call for rapid growth of this resilient, carbon-free power source.—
Kathryn Huff,
MSNBC Newsweek,
6 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The scores reflected the judges' differing opinions, with Hough downgrading from his eight of last week to a score of seven and Inaba nudging up to an eight.—
Maureen Lee Lenker,
Entertainment Weekly,
8 Oct. 2025
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As the new month begins on October 1st, Juno enters Sagittarius and lights up your communication and curiosity sector, nudging you to speak from your gut instead of your script.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
29 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The 33-year-old suspect in the Kroger Marketplace stabbing in Southgate was acting in self-defense while being punched at work, according to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.—
Natalie Davies,
Freep.com,
13 Oct. 2025
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And when her neighbor horrifyingly begins stabbing herself repeatedly.—
Frank Scheck,
HollywoodReporter,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Anthropic’s Claude wanted to know whether my headache was tension-related, due to sinus pressure, or something else entirely—hardly a goading question.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
22 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prodding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prodding. Accessed 16 Oct. 2025.
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