goaded

verb

past tense of goad
1
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
2
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 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 Democrats saw him as a master of dark arts, beholden to his former pals in the oil industry and a warmonger who goaded the nation to wars in Afghanistan and Iraq to help his benefactors. — Philip Elliott, Time, 20 Nov. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for goaded
  1. urged
  2. spurred
  3. encouraged
  4. stabbed
  5. nudged
  6. prodded
  7. poked
  8. punched
Verb
  • At the start of the year, top DHS officials, including Mullin, urged lawmakers to provide funding specifically for purchasing more body cameras and training officers on how to use them.
    — Ximena Bustillo, NPR, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Those with information on his whereabouts are urged to contact Ryde Police Station or Crime Stoppers.
    — Brenton Blanchet, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of urged
Verb
  • Myers was outraged, believing that his initial comment that spurred police involvement was constitutionally protected free speech.
    — Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 3 Sep. 2026
  • The harm caused by the delays spurred immigration attorneys and advocates in the state to send a letter to Chief Judge Sul Ozerden in March about the habeas bottleneck.
    — Carla Astudillo, ProPublica, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of spurred
Verb
  • More than a decade ago, the two researchers were introduced by their mutual boss, the chancellor at UCSF, who encouraged them to collaborate.
    — Pien Huang, NPR, 4 Sep. 2026
  • As Brown ramped back up this summer, he and the team were encouraged by his progress.
    — Sahadev Sharma, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of encouraged
Verb
  • Two people were stabbed, one fatally, near Times Square on Monday afternoon, with responding authorities shooting and killing the female suspect, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said.
    — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 1 Sep. 2026
  • One of the two people who was stabbed also died, while the other victim was hospitalized in stable condition.
    — Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of stabbed
Verb
  • In a normal rom-com, this is where Jack would exit stage left as the martyr who nudged Wendy toward her true soulmate.
    — Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 2 Sep. 2026
  • This nudged Bentley toward using sound made by living beings, rather than something synthesized.
    — Byron Hurd, The Drive, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of nudged
Verb
  • 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
Definition of prodded
Verb
  • Better together Industry analysts, experts and insiders have consistently poked holes in the states' argument that the combination of TV networks would create antitrust issues.
    — Lillian Rizzo, CNBC, 24 Aug. 2026
  • So too were the buildings, including my hotel, which poked through the seven-foot-high snowbanks, looking like an ancient shipwreck covered in shifting sand.
    — Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, 24 Aug. 2026
Definition of poked
Verb
  • The detainee said Seenaraine punched Rodriguez in the face after guards moved him to another part of the detention center.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Sep. 2026
  • DuBose questions the allegation that Fields’ sucker-punched his teammate.
    — Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of punched

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goad
goaded
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Cite this Entry

“Goaded.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/goaded. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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