prodding

Verb

prod (third-person singular simple present prods, present participle prodding, simple past and past participle prodded)

1. (intransitive, transitive) To poke, to push, to touch.
2. (informal, transitive) To encourage, to prompt.
   • Some of the most beautiful and thus appealing physical theories, including quantum electrodynamics and quantum gravity, have been dogged for decades by infinities that erupt when theorists try to prod their calculations into new domains. Getting rid of these nagging infinities has probably occupied...2012 January, Michael Riordan, “Tackling Infinity”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 1, archived from the original on 30 Apr 2013, page 86
3. (transitive) To prick with a goad.

See all 9 meanings of prod