as in stabbing
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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Recent Examples of spurring
The government is mindful of not hurting economic growth or spurring panic among consumers.
—
Shoko Oda, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
The move appears to have backfired, spurring voters in California and, last week, Virginia to redraw their state’s political maps to more than offset Texas and boost Democrats in November.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Its various hair gadgets (and their premium price tags) have enjoyed viral popularity among beauty influencers, spurring an influx of dupes like the Shark Flexstyle.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 21 Apr. 2026
As with any successful mission, Cassini’s wealth of riches should be spurring us on to future investigations.
—Big Think, 15 Apr. 2026
In at least six instances, people have survived the operations, spurring efforts to find and rescue them in most cases.
—CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
His initial New York convictions were overturned, spurring a retrial last year.
—ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
One August day in 1911, Peruggia hid the work under his jacket and walked away with it, spurring a media frenzy and the resignation of the Louvre’s director of paintings.
—Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Legislators removed an interim goal for utilities to cut carbon emissions, spurring concern from environmentalists that the state might miss its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.
—Jessica Hill, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
Shoko Oda, Bloomberg, 27 Apr. 2026
The move appears to have backfired, spurring voters in California and, last week, Virginia to redraw their state’s political maps to more than offset Texas and boost Democrats in November.
—Los Angeles Times, 26 Apr. 2026
Its various hair gadgets (and their premium price tags) have enjoyed viral popularity among beauty influencers, spurring an influx of dupes like the Shark Flexstyle.
—Victoria Song, The Verge, 21 Apr. 2026
As with any successful mission, Cassini’s wealth of riches should be spurring us on to future investigations.
—Big Think, 15 Apr. 2026
In at least six instances, people have survived the operations, spurring efforts to find and rescue them in most cases.
—CBS News, 13 Apr. 2026
His initial New York convictions were overturned, spurring a retrial last year.
—ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026
One August day in 1911, Peruggia hid the work under his jacket and walked away with it, spurring a media frenzy and the resignation of the Louvre’s director of paintings.
—Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 13 Apr. 2026
Legislators removed an interim goal for utilities to cut carbon emissions, spurring concern from environmentalists that the state might miss its goal of zero carbon emissions by 2050.
—Jessica Hill, Fortune, 9 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for spurring
Verb
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London — British Prime Minister Keir Starmer was heckled Thursday during a visit to North London, a day after two Jewish men were wounded in a stabbing attack — the latest in a series of incidents that one of Starmer's cabinet members has called an antisemitism emergency.—
Inaya Folarin Iman,
CBS News,
1 May 2026
-
An alleged TikTok antagonist is accused of stabbing a 17-year-old to death outside his New York City apartment building, authorities said.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
Verb
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Nice little Rogen dig here that reminds me of This Is the End poking fun at The Green Hornet.—
Ben Rosenstock,
Vulture,
29 Apr. 2026
-
In response to shouts for everyone to get down, one administration official at a media table crawled under it, with just her high heels poking out.—
Calvin Woodward,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
His Dahl is constantly goading people, driving them right up to the edge of their tolerance.—
Sara Holdren,
Vulture,
24 Mar. 2026
-
So, does Roan deserve all the credit for softening the nature of these carpets, where dozens of photographers gather to scream goading or even offensive remarks at talent just to get their attention?—
Rebecca Ford,
Vanity Fair,
12 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Kuhner is a writer, and, a few months after his family arrived, neighbors started prodding him to take over the local bookstore, which was being sold.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
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And six years later, Donovan is still prodding and cajoling the forward to crash the boards and control his dribble and contribute physically to the game.—
Julia Poe,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Mar. 2026
Verb
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Best travel backpack for airplanes Hate digging through your bags to pull out your laptop or tablet at security?—
BestReviews,
Mercury News,
1 May 2026
-
Swimming is allowed, but most kids are happier digging than wading.—
Lauren Schuster,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
30 Apr. 2026
Verb
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The behavior of a suspect in the murders of two University of South Florida students from Bangladesh worsened over time from marijuana use, family members told deputies after his arrest three years ago for punching his brother in the face and kicking his mother in the back.—
Mike Schneider,
The Orlando Sentinel,
29 Apr. 2026
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Ryan said Horner later confessed to punching and kicking the child in the head.—
Harriet Ramos,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
29 Apr. 2026
Verb
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OpenAI, for example, added a feature to ChatGPT in August that encourages users to take breaks after using the tool for extended periods of time instead of nudging them to keep responding.—
Renée Onque,
CNBC,
23 Apr. 2026
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Five‑generation workforces that tap older adults as talent, mentors, and innovators instead of nudging them to the sidelines.—
Ken Dychtwald,
Fortune,
23 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Business Insider previously obtained an internal document that described damage to one data center knocking 14 EC2 cloud server racks offline, in addition to impacting five other server racks.—
Jeremy Hsu,
ArsTechnica,
1 May 2026
-
Tollinche allegedly antagonizes people on the social media platform, and neighborhood teens have recently been gathering outside his home, knocking on his door and calling him out, according to police.—
Aaron Katersky,
ABC News,
1 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Spurring.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/spurring. Accessed 3 May. 2026.
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