as in stabbing
to urge or push forward with or as if with a pointed object
gently spurred the horse with his heels
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Recent Examples of spurring
In the two decades that followed, nationalization was embraced by former colonies across Asia and Latin America, spurring the United States and wealthy European nations to start prioritizing domestic resource extraction.
—
Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Glutamate triggers a bunch of positive ions to flood into a neuron, increasing its internal voltage and spurring it to fire an action potential, a strong burst of electricity that travels down a nerve fiber and makes the neuron release its own set of molecules to communicate with others, and so on.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 29 Sep. 2025
Photos of the agents kneeling soon circulated online, spurring anger among some of the agents’ colleagues and a number of conservative politicians.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
The president fired a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, without cause, despite protections enshrined in federal law — spurring a legal challenge that landed at the Supreme Court.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 24 Sep. 2025
The release of new models from OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek, among other companies, is spurring demand for AI services and driving the entire industry to boost investment.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
Fed rate cut fuels record highs Interest rate cuts can lower savings rates and borrowing costs, encouraging spending and investing, spurring business activity and creating a sustained tailwind for stocks.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
Despite China’s massive coal use, local renewables plus policy shifts are spurring projects.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
The goal is to establish a new niche by spurring customer loyalty for Numanthia’s Toro wines.
—Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Scott W. Stern, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025
Glutamate triggers a bunch of positive ions to flood into a neuron, increasing its internal voltage and spurring it to fire an action potential, a strong burst of electricity that travels down a nerve fiber and makes the neuron release its own set of molecules to communicate with others, and so on.
—Yasemin Saplakoglu, Quanta Magazine, 29 Sep. 2025
Photos of the agents kneeling soon circulated online, spurring anger among some of the agents’ colleagues and a number of conservative politicians.
—Toria Sheffield, PEOPLE, 27 Sep. 2025
The president fired a Federal Trade Commission (FTC) member, without cause, despite protections enshrined in federal law — spurring a legal challenge that landed at the Supreme Court.
—Zach Schonfeld, The Hill, 24 Sep. 2025
The release of new models from OpenAI and China’s DeepSeek, among other companies, is spurring demand for AI services and driving the entire industry to boost investment.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 23 Sep. 2025
Fed rate cut fuels record highs Interest rate cuts can lower savings rates and borrowing costs, encouraging spending and investing, spurring business activity and creating a sustained tailwind for stocks.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 22 Sep. 2025
Despite China’s massive coal use, local renewables plus policy shifts are spurring projects.
—Srishti Gupta, Interesting Engineering, 21 Sep. 2025
The goal is to establish a new niche by spurring customer loyalty for Numanthia’s Toro wines.
—Steve Denning, Forbes.com, 19 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurring
Verb
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During the ensuing fight near the trail, the man gained control of Heskett’s pocketknife, stabbing him with it, Zajac was told – an account that would unravel by day’s end.—
Andi Babineau,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
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In the wake of the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte, North Carolina, light rail train, the state legislature introduced a bill to crack down on bail for violent offenders, drawing praise from one crime expert.—
Peter D'Abrosca,
FOXNews.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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The first meetup drew dozens of participants poking at pudding cups together.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The underground pop of the 2010s used to get so excited about being online, using shrinky-dink artifice to delight in poking fun at a culture that could feel shallow and strange but also organic and endlessly renewable.—
Anna Gaca,
Pitchfork,
1 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Anthropic’s Claude wanted to know whether my headache was tension-related, due to sinus pressure, or something else entirely—hardly a goading question.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
22 Sep. 2025
Verb
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In some cases, like my request for headache tips, bots end their messages with prodding follow-up questions.—
Lila Shroff,
The Atlantic,
22 Sep. 2025
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Wissa was an important signing, someone to take the pressure off Woltemade while simultaneously prodding him.—
George Caulkin,
New York Times,
11 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Tubers that are dug for winter storage can be separated into starts at the time of digging.—
Kim Toscano,
Southern Living,
3 Oct. 2025
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Others are digging the W’s faster pace and perimeter evolution.—
Steven Louis Goldstein,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Verb
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While they were lined up, members put on boxing gloves and took turns punching the pledges four times in the chest, according to the petition.—
Jennifer Rodriguez,
Miami Herald,
30 Sep. 2025
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Jahmai Jones’ two-run single in the top of the fifth proved the difference, punching Detroit’s ticket to the playoffs and ensuring the Tigers would go into Game 162 with a chance to claw back the AL Central title from the insurgent Cleveland Guardians on the final day of the regular season.—
Mac Cerullo,
Boston Herald,
27 Sep. 2025
Verb
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As the new month begins on October 1st, Juno enters Sagittarius and lights up your communication and curiosity sector, nudging you to speak from your gut instead of your script.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
29 Sep. 2025
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Douthat talks to a wide range of guests, nudging them toward unexpectedly cosmic discussions of good and evil and the future of humanity.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
26 Sep. 2025
Verb
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Omarion Hampton injured his ankle, knocking him out of the game.—
Michael Salfino,
New York Times,
6 Oct. 2025
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Some rope and stanchion kept them from knock, knocking on the wood.—
Bryan West,
Nashville Tennessean,
5 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Spurring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurring. Accessed 6 Oct. 2025.
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