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
Relevance
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prods
Verb
-
The person then stabs it with a long knife.—
Claudia Lauer,
Chicago Tribune,
29 Aug. 2025 -
Near the end of the video, the unseen cameraperson flips the notebook to a page containing a diagram of the church and stabs the diagram with a knife.—
Chad de Guzman,
Time,
28 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
When supplements are necessary, Sanchez urges parents to choose professional-grade options that prioritize absorption, ingredient quality and transparency.—
Jazmine A. Ortiz,
USA Today,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Zhang urges you to set mental boundaries like refraining from overthinking.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
1 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
The brand’s giant green owl mascot dances badly, makes obscure pop culture references and pokes fun at the company’s push notifications.—
Leeron Walter,
Forbes.com,
3 Sep. 2025
-
Like his contemporaries, Meyers often pokes fun at the ongoing actions of the president and his administration on Late Night.—
Emlyn Travis Updated,
EW.com,
27 Aug. 2025
Verb
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My hope is that Reunion encourages commissioners and production companies to create space for other deaf people to come forward and tell their stories.—
Jesse Whittock,
Deadline,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The presence of citizen participation in legal decision-making encourages civic engagement, fosters public trust and reanimates the participatory ideals on which the American republic was founded.—
Richard Lorren Jolly,
The Conversation,
5 Sep. 2025
Noun
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Using a mouse model lacking the Cntnap2 gene, scientists recorded heightened activity in the RTN when animals faced stimuli such as light flashes or air puffs.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
1 Sep. 2025
-
Six years later, scientists at Yale showed that at the precise moment of conscious awareness of stimuli, a wave of electrical activity flows from the visual cortex located at the rear of the brain to the frontal lobes.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
20 Aug. 2025
Verb
-
Exercise spurs insulin sensitivity (the opposite of insulin resistance) by assisting insulin signaling in your muscles to take in glucose and use it as fuel.—
Bryant Stamford,
Louisville Courier Journal,
4 Sep. 2025
-
While many growth factors are human-derived (which, naturally, spurs some ethical concerns), Bioeffect’s come from barley, which Brezavscek says are still effective.—
Arden Fanning Andrews,
Vogue,
29 Aug. 2025
Verb
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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
Verb
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Support journalism that digs deeper into topics that matter most to Arkansans.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
5 Sep. 2025
-
Daniels was loath to pack the Scranton digs with new characters and drag the show on.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
4 Sep. 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Prods.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prods. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.
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