1
2
as in to urge
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
as in stimulus
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 prod
Brian Moylan, Vulture, 8 May 2025
After Aina lost his footing in the crucial moment, Kevin Schade prodded beyond Selz.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
Zoom in: Above all else, Trump's first month has been dominated by his war on the federal bureaucracy — and his various efforts to prod, probe and blow through the limits of presidential power.
—Zachary Basu, Axios, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prod
Verb
Paige makes the astute observation that Craig and Kyle are similar and need to be prodded along with kind words and attention with everything that happens.
—Brian Moylan, Vulture, 8 May 2025
After Aina lost his footing in the crucial moment, Kevin Schade prodded beyond Selz.
—Paul Taylor, New York Times, 2 May 2025
Noun
Rebecca Hall plays Rosenkrantz, who is mostly there to listen and prod.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 27 Jan. 2025
Zoom in: Above all else, Trump's first month has been dominated by his war on the federal bureaucracy — and his various efforts to prod, probe and blow through the limits of presidential power.
—Zachary Basu, Axios, 20 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prod
Recent Examples of Synonyms for prod
Verb
-
Within seconds, Phaedra poked fun at newbies Brit Eady, Angela Oakley, and Kelli Ferrell.—
Robyn Merrett,
StyleCaster,
25 May 2025
-
These two words have become an international meme, poking fun at Trump, especially since Putin ignored him.—
Trudy Rubin,
Twin Cities,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
Trump met personally with the GOP conference that morning, urging them to stop pushing for more changes and get behind the bill.—
Riley Beggin,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
-
Since May 2024, Jupiter has moved through your zone of intimacy, depth, and mutual resources, urging you to be more discerning about emotional risk.—
Colin Bedell,
Them.,
22 May 2025
Noun
-
The recordings revealed that AWB and ASH, two neurons that are responsible for making sense of olfactory stimuli, were activated when the corpses and fluids were present, indicating that the worms were smelling the signature of death.—
Sam Walters,
Discover Magazine,
23 May 2025
-
When we get stung by a wasp, the association between pain and wasps is encoded in the region of the brain called the amygdala, which connects simple stimuli with basic emotions.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
21 May 2025
Verb
-
Key acquisitions in 2025 have spurred Fenix24’s strong growth, such as the acquisition of vArmour, which was quickly complemented by its subsequent acquisition of appNovi.—
William Jones,
USA Today,
23 May 2025
-
The increasing need to detect cancers early on, along with monitoring potential recurrence, has spurred scientific research into non-invasive cancer diagnostics.—
Cat Wang,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
There is no fee to nominate and self-nominations are encouraged.—
Post-Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2025
-
Both trains offer luxury journeys that encourage passengers to partake in the joys of slow travel.—
Laura Itzkowitz,
Travel + Leisure,
25 May 2025
Verb
-
After slaughtering the other contenders and attacking students at the dance, Dan is unmasked after Lori stabs him in the eye with her crown.—
Jane LaCroix,
People.com,
24 May 2025
-
When Jayden tried to intervene, Brand stabbed him as well, according to prosecutors and state witnesses.—
Madeline Buckley,
Chicago Tribune,
23 May 2025
Verb
-
As rising costs of living have nudged more locals into greater financial precariousness and closer to hunger, the organization reported that nearly two in 10 South Floridians turned to it last year for food.—
Max Klaver,
Miami Herald,
30 May 2025
-
Around the same time, Jupiter in Cancer squares both Saturn and Neptune in Aries, nudging you to assess whether your home and family systems support your growth.—
Dossé-Via Trenou,
Refinery29,
29 May 2025
Noun
-
The Biden administration sought to encourage manufacturers to build in the United States, but those efforts are still in their early stages, and many of the government incentives are now on the chopping block.—
Dan Gearino,
Wired News,
31 May 2025
-
While Enders’ report accuses Amazon of contributing to the piracy problem, as the owner of its own streaming service, Prime Video, Amazon has an incentive to fight piracy.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
30 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Prod.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/prod. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share