PRODDED Synonyms: 61 Similar and Opposite Words

prodded

verb

past tense of prod

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

Relevance

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

Verb

Already poked, the league bear hasn’t exactly gone into hibernation, either.

— Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 13 Oct. 2026
Bellingham poked in Gordon's cross midway through the first half.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 Oct. 2026

Definition of poked

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

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

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

With his curiosity piqued, Rabtsevich dug through the TESS archives for more data on the same star and found an additional 22 instances of dimming.

— Adam Kovac, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
But Smith also failed to respect how dangerous and dug-in the Brewers are.

— Mirjam Swanson, Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of dug

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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prod

prodded

prodder

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Style

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

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Synonyms of prodded

verb

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