Thesaurus results for SPURRED

spurred

verb

Definition of spurred

past tense of spur

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of spurred Vaccine policy has become a prominent issue ahead of the November midterms elections, spurred on by a vaccine-skeptical president and health secretary. — Chelsea Cirruzzo, STAT, 10 Sep. 2026 Producers believe Barrymore has a significant audience that watches her on social media, says Kurtz, and that has spurred the program to take new swings even as the show matures. — Brian Steinberg, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026 The Broadway production’s long success though has spurred tours that have played in 73 US cities, nine countries and four continents, producers said. — Greg Evans, Deadline, 10 Sep. 2026 Some European law enforcement agencies chasing leads spurred by information in the Epstein files say the Justice Department has not responded to their requests. — Maegan Vazquez, Washington Post, 9 Sep. 2026 Arsenal’s captain again spurred his team to victory as his second-half strike proved decisive in a deserved win over Napoli in their opening game of this season’s Champions League. — Amy Lawrence, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026 Far from being cowed, the backlash spurred Curott to advocate for Wiccan and pagan rights. — Chelsea Bailey, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026 That includes firefighter Tim McCarte, who said the tragedy spurred him on in the effort to serve his community. — Ashley Grams, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026 Myers was outraged, believing that his initial comment that spurred police involvement was constitutionally protected free speech. — Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurred

Verb

The battle for whether NFL players will be permitted to return to college continues, as both parties have dug their heels in on either side of the issue.

— Austin Perry OutKick, FOXNews.com, 5 Sep. 2026
When punk finally came along, the movie talks about how Townshend, who totally dug the punk scene, tried to cozy up to Johnny Rotten and got nowhere.

— Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of dug

Verb

Two years later, Brown and her friend Ronald Goldman were found stabbed to death outside her Los Angeles home.

— Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
Up to this point, Ghostface victims have been stabbed with Buck 120 hunting knives, crushed by garage doors, shot, electrocuted, and thrown off rooftops in ferocious, balls-to-the-wall Scream fashion.

— Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026

Definition of stabbed

Verb

Better together Industry analysts, experts and insiders have consistently poked holes in the states' argument that the combination of TV networks would create antitrust issues.

— Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
So too were the buildings, including my hotel, which poked through the seven-foot-high snowbanks, looking like an ancient shipwreck covered in shifting sand.

— Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Aug. 2026

Definition of poked

Verb

Garrett, the best defensive player of the post-Aaron Donald era, fittingly goaded the legend out of retirement.

— Jeff Howe, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Or Pablo Picasso, goaded into radicalism by the latest bizarre creations of Matisse, retreating to the Spanish mountain village of Gósol and, mere months later, beginning work on his proto-cubist masterpiece, Les Demoiselles d’Avignon.

— Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 27 Aug. 2026