goading

[goh-ding]

noun

1. the act of pricking, prodding, driving, or inciting with or as if with a goad.

   After a little goading from the crowd, he grabbed another habanero pepper and ate the whole darn thing.

adjective

1. pricking or prodding with or as if with a goad; driving or inciting.

   It's precisely this unstable combination of insecurity and superiority that generates a goading need to prove oneself.

Word History and Origins

Origin of goading¹

First recorded in 1540–50; goad ( def. ) + -ing ¹ ( def. ) for the noun; goad ( def. ) + -ing ² ( def. ) for the adjective

Example Sentences

It was as if they were goading Scotland now.

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The goading and deliberate reduction in food encourages them to fly and helps them lose weight, he says.

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“What that family suffered is truly, truly horrific and truly unconscionable. The lies that were told, the goading of the family, all of that is absolutely horrendous.”

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We can expect some goading and taunting at the ceremonial way in this evening.

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YouTube footage shows him goading people into singing Reef's Put Your Hands Up, and taking selfies with fans during the encore.

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Related Words

• challenging 
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