Goad

//ɡəʊd//

Synonyms for "goad" (188 found)

Ranked by relevance and common usage.

Closest matches (38)

needle prod spur actuate ambition animate assault bear bear upon boost buck bull bulldoze bump bump against bunt butt butt against cage catalyst

Show 11 more words

cause chivvy coerce compel compulsion constraint corral cram crowd desire dig

Verb(7 words)

spur abet actuate bield bring about cheer draw

Strong matches (56)

drive drive on drove egg on elbow exhort flog force forward gad gadfly gall give an impetus give momentum herd hurtle hustle impel impetus impulse

Show 13 more words

impulsion incentive incitation incite incitement instigate instigation instrument jab jam jog joggle jolt

Verb(22 words)

drive egg on embolden encourage engender evoke excite fire foment galvanize gin up goose grill hearten ignite impel incense incite induce inflame

Show 2 more words

instigate invoke

Noun(1 words)

goading

Related words (94)

jostle kindle lash lust motion motivate motivation move nag nudge oxgoad passion pile drive point poke power premium press prick prompt

Show 39 more words

Verb(30 words)

kindle lash light a fire under motivate motive move needle obligate oblige prick promote prompt provoke push quicken rouse send set off spark off spur on

Show 10 more words

stimulate sting stir stir up stoke tempt urge wake whet whip up

Noun(5 words)

prod prodding spur spurring urging

Related word relations

OpenGloss and ConceptNet supply richer edges like generalizations, collocations, and derivations.

7 relation types

More general

19 entries

beset chevvy chevy chivvy chivy device egg on encourage encouragement harass harry hassle incite jab molest plague

Showing 16 of 19 words.

Synonyms

3 entries

needle prod spur

Related terms

1 entries

goat

derived

11 entries

cattle goad geddock goad stick goader goadingly goadlike goadman goadster overgoaded oxgoad ungoaded

is a

1 entries

encouragement

manner of

2 entries

prod stab

related to

7 entries

encourage goat incite prod provoke stimulate stimulus

Translations

135 translations across 51 languages.

Ancient Greek

2 entries

κέντρον noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
κεντέω verb (to prod with a goad)

Arabic

1 entries

مِنْخَس noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Aramaic

1 entries

זקתא noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Aromanian

1 entries

strimburari noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Azerbaijani

1 entries

tırkalamaq verb (to incite or provoke)

Belarusian

1 entries

страка́ла noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Bulgarian

4 entries

копраля noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
остен noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
подстрекавам verb (to incite or provoke)
подтиквам verb (to encourage or stimulate)

Catalan

3 entries

agullada noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
gullada noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
tocadora noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Central Kurdish

1 entries

نەقیزە noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Chinese Mandarin

3 entries

唆使 verb (to encourage or stimulate)
慫恿 /怂恿 verb (to encourage or stimulate)
挑釁 /挑衅 verb (to incite or provoke)

Church Slavic

1 entries

стрѣкало noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Czech

4 entries

bodec noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
pobídnout verb (to encourage or stimulate)
pobízet verb (to encourage or stimulate)
popichovat verb (to incite or provoke)

Danish

1 entries

pigkæp noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Dutch

4 entries

staak noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
aanmoedigen verb (to encourage or stimulate)
aansporen verb (to incite or provoke)
aanzetten verb (to incite or provoke)

Finnish

3 entries

tutkain noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
kannustaa verb (to encourage or stimulate)
yllyttää verb (to incite or provoke)

French

3 entries

aiguillon noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
aiguillonner verb (to prod with a goad)
provoquer verb (to incite or provoke)

Galician

4 entries

aguillada noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
aguillón noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
afalar verb (to encourage or stimulate)
aferretar verb (to prod with a goad)

German

4 entries

Stachelstock noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
anspornen verb (to encourage or stimulate)
anstacheln verb (to prod with a goad)
anstacheln verb (to encourage or stimulate)

Greek

4 entries

βουκέντρα noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
ενθαρρύνω verb (to encourage or stimulate)
κεντώ verb (to prod with a goad)
παροτρύνω verb (to encourage or stimulate)

Hebrew

1 entries

מַלְמַד noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Hindi

1 entries

हाँकना verb (to prod with a goad)

Hungarian

3 entries

ösztöke noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
felbujt verb (to incite or provoke)
felpiszkál verb (to incite or provoke)

Ido

1 entries

pikobastono noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Indonesian

1 entries

gancu noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Irish

1 entries

brod noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Italian

2 entries

pungolo noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
pungolare verb (to prod with a goad)

Javanese

1 entries

gancu noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Kashubian

1 entries

òsce noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Latin

2 entries

stimulus noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
stimulāre verb (to prod with a goad)

Macedonian

2 entries

остен noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
подбуцне verb (to prod with a goad)

Malay

1 entries

angkus noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Malayalam

2 entries

അങ്കുശം noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
തോട്ടി noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Middle English

1 entries

gode noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Māori

1 entries

whakaongaonga verb (to incite or provoke)

Northern Kurdish

1 entries

misas noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Old Armenian

1 entries

գաւազան noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Ottoman Turkish

4 entries

اوكندره noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
كوندر noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
دورتمك verb (to prod with a goad)
دورتمك verb (to incite or provoke)

Persian

1 entries

سک noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Polish

4 entries

oścień noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
podjudzać verb (to incite or provoke)
podjudzić verb (to incite or provoke)
prowadzić verb (to prod with a goad)

Portuguese

3 entries

atiçar verb (to incite or provoke)
incitar verb (to incite or provoke)
provocar verb (to incite or provoke)

Romanian

2 entries

strămurare noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
îndemna verb (to encourage or stimulate)

Russian

4 entries

прут noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
стрека́ло noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
подгоня́ть verb (to prod with a goad)
подгоня́ть verb (to encourage or stimulate)

Sanskrit

1 entries

अष्ट्रा noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Scottish Gaelic

1 entries

brod noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Serbo-Croatian

4 entries

badalo noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
podbosti verb (to prod with a goad)
podbosti verb (to encourage or stimulate)
podbosti verb (to incite or provoke)

Spanish

4 entries

aguijada noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
aguijadera noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
picana noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
puya noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Swedish

3 entries

egga verb (to incite or provoke)
sporra verb (to encourage or stimulate)
trissa verb (to incite or provoke)

Thai

2 entries

ปฏัก noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
ประตัก noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Turkish

1 entries

üvendire noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Ukrainian

2 entries

стрека́ло noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)
стріка́ло noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Urdu

1 entries

آنکس noun (pointed stick used to prod animals)

Sample sentences

12 total sentences available.

Tatoeba + Wiktionary

She tended cattle and she sang so sweetly that the herds were delighted with her song, and she needed neither the crook nor the goad to manage them; they obeyed her voice, and gazed at and listened to the maid as she sat under the shade of a pine tree, crowned with a garland of its leaves and singing the loves of Pan and Pitys the Nymph.

Source: tatoeba (6212537)

The challenge seemed to goad her into action.

Source: tatoeba (12079181)

His relentless teasing was meant to goad her into responding.

Source: tatoeba (12079182)

The coach's motivational speech was a goad for the team's determination.

Source: tatoeba (12079183)

Showing 4 of 12 available sentences.

More for "goad"

Meaning Antonyms Sentences Word Type

Keep exploring

Compare antonyms Use in sentences Read the blog

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.