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
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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
Wondrous Neptune is soaring into your 9th House of Investigations, prodding you out of your comfort zone.
—
Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Jordan, at times, could be abrasive and biting while relentlessly prodding his teammates to push themselves to excellence.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Trump believes exacting tariffs can be a useful tool in prodding friends and foes on the global stage to bend to his will.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
The moment in 1997 when the esoteric holiday left the closed confines of the television writer’s memories of an atypical adolescence and slipped into the world via Hollywood producers took place as he was cornered in a booth with his colleagues prodding him to spill the beans.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
Near the end of the October hearing, with prodding from the judge, Bruno sounded ready to accept the university’s settlement offer and move on with his life.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 Dec. 2025
PepsiCo is making the changes after prodding from Elliott Investment Management, which took a $4 billion stake in the company in September.
—Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025
For decades, American presidents have tried to solve these states’ inherent tensions by attacking or otherwise prodding them.
—Ray Takeyh, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2025
None of this is to diminish the gargantuan pain Lee’s family went through but to emphasize that The Case Against Adnan Syed identified the Islamophobia and sloppy policework surrounding the case and kept prodding at it to understand exactly why Syed was convicted and what might happen next.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Tarot.com, Sun Sentinel, 26 Jan. 2026
Jordan, at times, could be abrasive and biting while relentlessly prodding his teammates to push themselves to excellence.
—Michael Silver, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026
Trump believes exacting tariffs can be a useful tool in prodding friends and foes on the global stage to bend to his will.
—Jon Gambrell, Los Angeles Times, 13 Jan. 2026
The moment in 1997 when the esoteric holiday left the closed confines of the television writer’s memories of an atypical adolescence and slipped into the world via Hollywood producers took place as he was cornered in a booth with his colleagues prodding him to spill the beans.
—Kevin Dolak, HollywoodReporter, 23 Dec. 2025
Near the end of the October hearing, with prodding from the judge, Bruno sounded ready to accept the university’s settlement offer and move on with his life.
—Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 8 Dec. 2025
PepsiCo is making the changes after prodding from Elliott Investment Management, which took a $4 billion stake in the company in September.
—Dee-Ann Durbin, Fortune, 8 Dec. 2025
For decades, American presidents have tried to solve these states’ inherent tensions by attacking or otherwise prodding them.
—Ray Takeyh, Foreign Affairs, 4 Dec. 2025
None of this is to diminish the gargantuan pain Lee’s family went through but to emphasize that The Case Against Adnan Syed identified the Islamophobia and sloppy policework surrounding the case and kept prodding at it to understand exactly why Syed was convicted and what might happen next.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 1 Dec. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prodding
Verb
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Their second goal came on a play that McLellan still felt postgame should have been overturned for goalie interference, with Dylan Strome seemingly poking a puck out from under Gibson’s glove and scoring on a wraparound.—
Max Bultman,
New York Times,
30 Jan. 2026
-
Spillman seemingly didn’t mind poking fun at her age, hitting the comedic beat again in the November episode that featured the finalists.—
Sandra Gonzalez,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The nonprofit is urging donors to make an appointment to give blood or to go to a blood drive.—
Ciara McCarthy
January 27,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
28 Jan. 2026
-
Earlier this week, 60 CEOs in Minnesota wrote a letter published by the Minnesota Chamber of Commerce urging deescalation.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Customers are also digging through the drawers for scrap gold and unwanted or broken jewelry.—
Vanessa Yurkevich,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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Excavators digging at Sizewell C found 321 silver coins last year, dating back between 1036 and 1044.—
Andrea Margolis,
FOXNews.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Colorado Division of Oil and Public Safety is also encouraging impacted customers to contact them by submitting a complaint online or calling 303-866-4967.—
Austen Erblat,
CBS News,
13 Jan. 2026
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Known for encouraging collaboration in a competitive industry, Brotherton was widely regarded as someone who championed other cooks as much as his own success.—
Ana Gutierrez,
Austin American Statesman,
12 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Particularly impressionable to her at the time were Dirty Dancing (spurring her to take ballroom dancing lessons) and Prince’s Purple Rain — both projected on a simple white sheet in a makeshift viewing room.—
Natalie Oganesyan,
Deadline,
25 Jan. 2026
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Both parties have passed bills year after year aimed at spurring development, yet Colorado's housing market continues to be one of the most expensive in the country.—
Shaun Boyd,
CBS News,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The morning favors slow starts, nudging us to notice needs early and respond without wasting time.—
Tarot.com,
Sun Sentinel,
24 Jan. 2026
-
The speedy little Mercedes slipped beneath the truck, nudging it lightly in the belly, and contracted, crushing within itself two male bodies slack with drink and sleep.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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He’s suspected of stabbing 30-year-old mom Eliza Morales about 70 times, killing her and her unborn child before setting her home on fire, prosecutors have alleged in court.—
Rebecca Johnson,
Chicago Tribune,
30 Jan. 2026
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North Carolina lawmakers have called a federal judge’s order locking them out of the ongoing criminal investigative file on the August Charlotte light rail stabbing unconstitutional.—
Julia Coin,
Charlotte Observer,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Agents made several arrests in supermarket parking lots and at tamale stands while goading angry residents who confronted them and threatening to unleash tear gas.—
Jason Meisner,
Chicago Tribune,
23 Jan. 2026
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The mind thrills to imagine a genderless prophet among the brocades and buckskin breeches of Revolutionary America, weirding out the normies, sticking a flower in the barrel of a musket, and goading the new nation to let its hair down—literally.—
Dan Piepenbring,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prodding.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prodding. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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