GOADED Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

goaded

verb

past tense of goad

as in urged

to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action tried to goad me into auditioning for the play

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in spurred

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 goaded 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 The architect of the program’s revitalization will not be goaded into predictions or promises. — Miami Herald, 16 Aug. 2026 Anthony provoked and goaded Metcalf, Wirskye said. — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 4 June 2026 In the ensuing chaos, one of those two young men takes the stage, goaded on by his friend, and soon has the audience dancing to his melodies and words. — Murtada Elfadl, Variety, 22 May 2026 He was mocked and goaded by Callum Newman into attacking Shingo Takagi after Newman retained the IWGP Heavyweight Championship. — Ryan Gaydos, FOXNews.com, 7 May 2026 The czar, goaded by his military advisors, mobilized the Russian army knowing that meant war. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 18 Mar. 2026 Her ups and downs were a regular punch line on late-night talk shows, starting with her first appearance on The Tonight Show in 1985, when she was goaded into agreeing to lose 15 lbs. — Eileen Finan, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for goaded

Verb

Both urged demonstrators to make their voices heard at the ballot box.

— Sarah Cutler, Idaho Statesman, 19 Oct. 2026
Student groups protesting since mid-September through school blockades have urged supporters to join them.

— SYLVIE CORBET, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of urged

Verb

Part of what’s spurred this breakthrough involves creatives getting to know the technology.

— Corbin Bolies, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
In September, 75% of stocks in the S&P 500 closed in negative territory, as the threat of higher interest rates spurred investors back into a few mega-cap companies.

— Sarah Min, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026

Definition of spurred

Verb

After losing in 2024, McGinn has repeatedly raised concerns on the campaign trail about Bradley’s absence from a vote in the Senate on legislation named for the Ukrainian refugee fatally stabbed on Charlotte’s light rail.

— Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 16 Oct. 2026
As seen on a surveillance video, the man walked up to the victim, grabbed him, and stabbed him multiple times before fleeing from the scene.

— Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of stabbed

Verb

In an earnings preview note, analysts at Seaport Global nudged up estimates on the view that net interest income (NII) stands to benefit from both deposit growth and higher rates.

— Zev Fima,Kevin Stankiewicz, CNBC, 11 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

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

Definition of prodded

Verb

As for the crack, well, that happened by accident when heavy equipment punched through a concrete wall and unintentionally punctured the sphere, company officials told The Mountaineer.

— Mark Price, Charlotte Observer, 14 Oct. 2026
Ordinary except, of course, for that time humans punched it, opening the door for the Hera mission to explore the previously unremarkable rocks.

— Meghan Bartels, Space.com, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of punched

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goad

goaded

goading

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“Goaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goaded. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of goaded

verb

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