goads 1 of 2

noun

plural of goad
as in incentives
something that arouses action or activity the threat of skin cancer—not to mention the prospect of wrinkles—should be sufficient goad for using sunscreen

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

goads

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of goad
1
as in urges
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action tried to goad me into auditioning for the play

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in stabs
to urge or push forward with or as if with a pointed object goading the horse forward into the stall

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 goads
Noun
To Robin Wright’s multimillionaire gallery owner Laura, her son’s new girlfriend is a sleazy opportunist, a gold digger who lies about her academic and professional credentials and goads Laura by going down on Daniel (Laurie Davidson) in Laura’s house with the door open. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 10 Sep. 2025
Verb
When the two wind up at a random Easter brunch, Winfried goads Ines into karaoke. — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 20 Mar. 2026 The protagonist then goads him into drinking enough to agree to spending the afternoon at her lake house. — Megan McCluskey, Time, 5 Mar. 2026 Using her charm offensive, Hedda goads naive spouses to cheat, recovering alcoholics to drink and depressives to wander off into the darkness with a revolver. — Amy Nicholson, Twin Cities, 23 Oct. 2025 Dawn goads Joe about Ted, suggesting that Joe’s late father, who was also sheriff, would have taken action. — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2025 Reynolds goads Miller by sending a photo of himself getting cozy with Sophia, and in a moment both lurid and laughable, the prisoner visualizes the two of them getting naked and going at it right outside the cell. — David Rooney, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goads
  1. incentives
  2. urges
  3. stabs
  4. encouragements
  5. encourages
  6. spurs
  7. impetuses
  8. pokes
Noun
  • What mattered was whether traffic could improve, whether franchisees could earn acceptable returns, whether management incentives were aligned, and whether capital allocation could change.
    — Jim Osman, Forbes.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • Reach of local media adds to the equation The decline of local media may also be changing the incentives around debates.
    — Barnini Chakraborty, The Washington Examiner, 15 Aug. 2026
Definition of incentives
Verb
  • The two argue about Essex’s goals, and Sabretooth urges Wolverine to usurp Essex and take control of the team himself.
    — Jordan Moreau, Variety, 13 Aug. 2026
  • If sleep problems persist, Johns Hopkins urges people to see a doctor rather than let the issue linger.
    — Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of urges
Verb
  • When Little Death stabs into their victim, there’s a geyser of blood, way more than could fit inside a human body.
    — Sarah Shachat, IndieWire, 7 Aug. 2026
  • In the heat of the moment, Voit’s daughter comes to his rescue and fatally stabs Crowley.
    — Caroline Blair, PEOPLE, 24 July 2026
Definition of stabs
Noun
  • Many folks send encouragements toward OP mom and her son, while others put heat on the other parents for sexualizing their kids’ friendship.
    — DeVonne Goode, Parents, 26 July 2026
  • All through the park, competitors and onlookers hit vapes and shout tips and encouragements into trees.
    — Calin Van Paris, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
Definition of encouragements
Verb
  • Forbes Travel Guide’s second annual Edge List encourages discovery beyond the well-trodden path.
    — Forbes Travel Guide, Forbes.com, 12 Aug. 2026
  • If parents need to contact their students, each district encourages them to reach out to the school’s office.
    — Taylor O'Connor, Kansas City Star, 12 Aug. 2026
Definition of encourages
Verb
  • Don’t Fertilize Fertilizer spurs grass to grow quickly and growth demands carbohydrates which are in short supply during a heat wave.
    — Megan Hughes, Better Homes & Gardens, 8 Aug. 2026
  • This combination captures people’s moral attention and spurs them to action.
    — Jen Cole Wright, The Conversation, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of spurs
Noun
  • One of the main impetuses for this is that newer planes are flying further, which means airline routes are getting longer.
    — Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 June 2025
Definition of impetuses
Verb
  • Even in the bathrooms, the toilet and bidet are concealed inside a kind of Travertine bench and the showerhead pokes out from a monolithic stone slab.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 4 Aug. 2026
  • This is strong language, which pokes at our tribal memory of gasoline shortages from the 1970’s.
    — George Calhoun, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of pokes

Browse Nearby Words

goading
goads
go-ahead
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Cite this Entry

“Goads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goads. Accessed 17 Aug. 2026.

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