as in dug
to urge or push forward with or as if with a pointed object
gently spurred the horse with his heels
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of spurred
That collapse is spurred not just by Napoleon, but also outside pressure from the human-run Pilkington Corporation, intent on reclaiming the freedom that these precious cartoon animals just seized.
—
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2026
His death spurred mixed responses — and action.
—Paris Barraza, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
Originally focused on ensuring that programs originally shown and captioned on television retain captioning services when made available on the Internet, requiring captioning of online programming appears to have spurred the use of captioning in other online video streaming situations as well.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
Economic decline in Iran has spurred waves of anti-government protests, most recently in December.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spurred
Alison Foreman, IndieWire, 30 Apr. 2026
His death spurred mixed responses — and action.
—Paris Barraza, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026
Originally focused on ensuring that programs originally shown and captioned on television retain captioning services when made available on the Internet, requiring captioning of online programming appears to have spurred the use of captioning in other online video streaming situations as well.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 30 Apr. 2026
Economic decline in Iran has spurred waves of anti-government protests, most recently in December.
—ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for spurred
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurred
Verb
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Over the past year, Shugar and his co-authors have dug more deeply into seismic records and other observations of the glacier to figure out what happened.—
Megan I. Gannon,
Scientific American,
6 May 2026
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To help natural forces rebuild the marsh more quickly, restoration crews dug channels into the farmland before breaching the levee.—
John Ryan,
NPR,
3 May 2026
Verb
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The assailant stabbed the pope with a bayonet, but the assassination attempt was unsuccessful.—
USA Today,
USA Today,
6 May 2026
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Despite attempts to de-escalate the situation, the suspect pulled out a knife and stabbed one of the officers multiple times.—
Dean Fioresi,
CBS News,
6 May 2026
Verb
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There might never have been The Osbournes had Stern not pushed and prodded the deliciously wacky rock star family to bring their story to the airwaves.—
Malina Saval,
Rolling Stone,
16 Apr. 2026
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The Gilbert family prodded the authorities to continue searching for Shannan Gilbert, and on December 13, 2011, her remains were found in the Oak Beach marshlands.—
Laura Payne,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
9 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Hartman caught the pass and poked it low past Wedgewood while being buried by a Brent Burns check.—
Jess Myers,
Twin Cities,
4 May 2026
-
Joshua poked me in the shoulder.—
Chang-rae Lee,
New Yorker,
3 May 2026
Verb
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The Pistons punched back with a 20-5 run as the Magic at one point missed 13 straight shots from the floor.—
Jason Beede,
The Orlando Sentinel,
28 Apr. 2026
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The would-be robbery victim did not need medical attention after being punched.—
Rocco Parascandola,
New York Daily News,
27 Apr. 2026
Verb
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He was mocked and goaded by Callum Newman into attacking Shingo Takagi after Newman retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship.—
Ryan Gaydos,
FOXNews.com,
7 May 2026
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The czar, goaded by his military advisors, mobilized the Russian army knowing that meant war.—
Voice of the People,
New York Daily News,
18 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Another excavator arrived, working from a temporary construction road that stretched into the water, and nudged its bucket against the whale in an effort to jostle the animal free.—
Jessica Camille Aguirre,
New Yorker,
2 May 2026
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The Dodgers’ social media team nudged Smith out of that public shell a bit this spring, in a spot promoting his bobblehead night, in which Smith nailed a deadpan delivery and a range of facial gestures.—
Bill Shaikin,
Los Angeles Times,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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Two more walks burned Warren in the fourth, as Duran followed with a sac fly before Seager knocked an RBI single.—
Gary Phillips,
New York Daily News,
7 May 2026
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MacKinnon was credited with two hits in the game — one on Hughes, which knocked the talented defenseman to the ice, and another on Boldy, who went hard into the boards.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
6 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spurred.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurred. Accessed 9 May. 2026.
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