1
as in stabs
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 urges
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 prods
Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
Noun
The film takes place over three years in Valbona, a suburban district of Barcelona, as Guerín prods at issues of displacement, identity, urban life, and ecological conflicts in this small neighborhood that serves as a microcosm of the world.
—Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 25 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prods
Verb
-
Alex breaks free and, in a panic, repeatedly stabs Evelyn with the syringe.—
Allison DeGrushe,
Entertainment Weekly,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Spike takes one of Kelson's tranquilizer darts filled with morphine and stabs Samson in the arm with it.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
23 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The Full Moon in Aries will highlight home and family dynamics, and urges you to release outdated patterns of control or resentment that might be keeping you from feeling fully happy.—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
-
To Robin Wright’s multimillionaire gallery owner Laura, her son’s new girlfriend is a sleazy opportunist, a gold digger who lies about her academic and professional credentials and goads Laura by going down on Daniel (Laurie Davidson) in Laura’s house with the door open.—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
10 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Impressionistic lyrics would fit this stuff, but Le Bon pokes the spacious haze with direct evocations of love and heartbreak.—
Jon Dolan,
Rolling Stone,
24 Sep. 2025
-
The track pokes fun at consumerism and a materialistic society constantly seeking the next best thing, a theme that remains relevant nearly 45 years later.—
Nour Rahal,
Freep.com,
22 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 receptors in your hands respond to myriad stimuli-like pressures—vibrations in sync with 15 different families of neurons.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
-
There’s so much stimuli that I get really pumped doing it.—
Jennifer Maas,
Variety,
24 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
From this point of view, Xidan Books may seem to suffer from comparison with the Zhongshuge chain, whose outlets are drawing increasing numbers of Beijing readers thanks to interior design that catches the eye and spurs a desire to linger at length.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Lower costs mean more supply, which in turn lowers prices and spurs more demand.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
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
Cite this Entry
“Prods.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prods. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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