goad

[gohd]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR goad ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a stick with a pointed or electrically charged end, for driving cattle, oxen, etc.; prod.

anything that pricks or wounds like such a stick.

something that encourages, urges, or drives; a stimulus.

verb (used with object)

to prick or drive with, or as if with, a goad; prod; incite.

Origin of goad

before 900; Middle English gode, Old English gād; compare Langobardic gaida spearhead

Related formsgoad·like, adjectiveun·goad·ed, adjective

Synonyms for goad

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR goad ON THESAURUS.COM

4. spur, push, impel.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for goad

prod, tease, coerce, harass, hound, provoke, desire, urge, incitement, compulsion, impetus, zeal, incitation, drive, incentive, lust, pressure, motivation, passion, catalyst

Examples from the Web for goad

Contemporary Examples of goad

Maybe the public display of pro-Gaddafi sentiments acts as a goad for the killings.
Libya Is Still Riven by Violence as Loyalists and Rebels Alike Keep Killing
Jamie Dettmer
July 12, 2012
Social and cultural insecurity has also served as a goad to Mormon productivity and achievement.
Mormons Rock!
Walter Kirn
June 5, 2011
He knew how to improvise, how to lead a fellow actor into a state of mind, how to goad them into their best performances.
John Cazale, A Godfather of Acting
Gina Piccalo
May 31, 2010

Historical Examples of goad

The contempt he did not trouble to dissemble served but to goad them on.
Scaramouche
Rafael Sabatini
Nothing could have been better calculated to goad him to extremity.
The Twins of Suffering Creek
Ridgwell Cullum
It was like a goad to the painted, shiny-eyed harridan on the sofa.
Under Western Eyes
Joseph Conrad
But the spur, though it pricked, did not goad him into any action.
The Doctor's Family
Mrs. (Margaret) Oliphant
Time rules in those glades, Time with his whip and goad, and there is no peace.
The Soul of a People
H. Fielding

British Dictionary definitions for goad

goad

noun

a sharp pointed stick for urging on cattle, etc

anything that acts as a spur or incitement

verb

(tr) to drive with or as if with a goad; spur; incite

Derived Formsgoadlike, adjective

Word Origin for goad

Old English gād, of Germanic origin, related to Old English gār, Old Norse geirr spear

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for goad

Old English gad "point, spearhead, arrowhead," from Proto-Germanic *gaido (cf. Lombardic gaida "spear"), from PIE *ghei- (cf. Sanskrit hetih "missile, projectile," himsati "he injures;" Avestan zaena- "weapon;" Greek khaios "shepherd's staff;" Old English gar "spear;" Old Irish gae "spear"). Figurative use is since 16c., probably from the Bible.

1570s, from goad (n.); earliest use is figurative. Related: Goaded; goading.