prodded

verb

past tense of prod
1
as in poked
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

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2
as in urged
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

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 prodded Builders, prodded to work beyond city limits, adopted Olmsted’s vision for what those suburbs should look like. — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026 Trump publicly prodded the Health secretary for an update on autism research in a Cabinet meeting last month. — Ali Swenson, Los Angeles Times, 10 Aug. 2026 And along with the documentary, you get prodded into recall again. — Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 28 July 2026 Goldfarb rhetorically asks himself when prodded for response. — Brad Japhe, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026 Rested during a dead-rubber loss to Turkey, Balogun returned Wednesday for the round-of-32 clash with Bosnia and prodded home the opening strike in that 2-0 triumph. — Thomas Floyd, Washington Post, 6 July 2026 Later in the second half, Olise teed up Ousmane Dembele with prodded outside-of-the-boot passes after picking up loose balls in front of the defence. — Thom Harris, New York Times, 4 July 2026 Lawyers for Julia Ormond are looking to have the court issue a bench warrant for the arrest of CAA co-founder Michael Ovitz for walking out of a deposition after being prodded about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. — Winston Cho For The Hollywood Reporter, ARTnews.com, 24 June 2026 Lawyers for Julia Ormond are looking to have the court issue a bench warrant for the arrest of CAA cofounder Michael Ovitz for walking out of a deposition after being prodded about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 23 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prodded
  1. poked
  2. urged
  3. stabbed
  4. encouraged
  5. spurred
  6. nudged
  7. dug
  8. punched
Verb
  • Gray-green eyes poked up from its small, round shell, which was the color of sand, and its legs made a soft, scuttling sound.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Flip and continue to cook until the flesh begins to flake when poked with a fork, 1 to 2 minutes.
    — Kate Williams, AJC.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of poked
Verb
  • Beijing has responded by curbing exports of critical minerals to Japanese companies and urged citizens to refrain from traveling to Japan.
    — Anniek Bao,Lim Hui Jie, CNBC, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Thomson says Gordon urged Zakrzewski to turn on a livestream that would display his location to Fox colleagues in New York and London.
    — David Folkenflik, NPR, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of urged
Verb
  • After an Omani national copilot — who has since been identified as 29-year-old Hamam al-Hammami — allegedly stabbed FlyDubai flight 1073’s pilot Capt.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The copilot allegedly stabbed the captain in the cockpit before passengers intervened aboard FlyDubai Flight FZ1073 after taking off from Dubai, UAE, with 182 people including eight crew members flying to Tel Aviv, Israel, on Wednesday.
    — Sam Metz, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of stabbed
Verb
  • Doe’s attorney, Thomas Giuffra told CNN his client remains committed to working with Attorney General Letitia James’ investigation and is encouraged by her appointment.
    — Rebekah Riess, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Many of these culture-creating behaviors have been observed in 2026 Anthropic studies of multi-agent systems this year that encouraged complex collaboration.
    — Michael Morris, Fortune, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of encouraged
Verb
  • That was until a surge in oil prices and bond yields in recent months spurred investors to run back to their old favorites.
    — Sarah Min, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
  • But Ellison eventually made a superior offer, spurred at least in part by Paramount’s need to gain scale in the streaming wars.
    — Brian Stelter, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of spurred
Verb
  • The same analysts at Wells nudged up their Alphabet price target to $417 from $411, implying 20% upside.
    — Jim Cramer, CNBC, 6 Oct. 2026
  • The blind man nudged the ferrule of his cane into the bulk of the sleeping figure, sidestepped him deftly, and moved on to the end of the block, a stoplight, heavy traffic, cyclists, big scary trucks.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of nudged
Verb
  • Hundreds of British troops crisscrossed fields with thousands of metres of razor wire and dug a long ditch that was later partially filled with water to act as a moat to keep the Protestant marchers away from the Catholic enclave.
    — Amanda Ferguson Reuters, Arkansas Online, 26 Sep. 2026
  • But the Rebels dug deep again, and came away with the emotional victory.
    — Patricia Babcock McGraw OutKick, FOXNews.com, 19 Sep. 2026
Definition of dug
Verb
  • His pass set and movements looked more like an art than someone who punched people for a living.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 7 Oct. 2026
  • The suspect allegedly punched the woman with a closed fist before taking her phone and driver's license, then fleeing the scene, according to police.
    — Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of punched

Browse Nearby Words

prod
prodded
prodder
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Cite this Entry

“Prodded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prodded. Accessed 9 Oct. 2026.

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