Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of goad

51 similar words

Another word for goad is encourage. Other synonyms of goad are push, stimulate, urge, motivate and promote.

Synonyms and similar words for goad

verbTo encourage or stimulate.

verbTo incite or provoke.

  • actuateTo incite to action; to motivate.
  • spurTo urge or encourage to action, or to a more vigorous pursuit of an object.
  • goose
  • fuel
  • light a fire underTo motivate or encourage (someone) to start sooner or move faster.
  • send
  • sting
  • bring aboutTo cause to take place.
  • drawTo attract or provoke (a particular reaction or response) from someone.
  • drive(especially of animals) To impel or urge onward by force; to push forward; to compel to move on.
  • encourageTo mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit.
  • egg onTo encourage or coax (a person) to do something, especially something foolhardy or reckless.
  • engenderTo bring into existence (a situation, quality, result etc.); to give rise to, cause, create.
  • evokeTo elicit a response.
  • exciteTo arouse or bring out (e.g. feelings); to stimulate.
  • fomentTo incite or cause troublesome acts; to encourage; to instigate.
  • ignite figurativelyTo spark off (something), to trigger.
  • impelTo urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation.
  • incite
  • induceTo cause, bring about, lead to.
  • inflame figurativelyTo excite or intensify (a feeling, such as an appetite or passion), especially to an excessive or unnatural level.
  • instigateTo goad or urge (a person) forward, especially to wicked actions.
  • invokeTo bring about as an inevitable consequence.
  • lash
  • motiveTo prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
  • motivateTo provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate.
  • obligate
  • oblige
  • pushTo continually attempt to persuade (a person) into a particular course of action.
  • promoteTo encourage, urge or incite.
  • promptTo initiate; to cause or lead to.
  • provokeTo bring about a reaction.
  • rouseTo provoke (someone) to react (for example, in anger or annoyance); to spur; also, to annoy, to tease.
  • set offTo begin; to cause; to initiate.
  • spark offTo initiate something by providing the necessary conditions.
  • spur onTo spur or urge (someone) to do something.
  • stimulateTo encourage into action.
  • stirTo incite to action.
  • stir upTo arouse or excite (passion or action, etc.).
  • stoke figuratively
  • temptTo provoke something; to court.
  • urgeTo put mental pressure on; to ply with motives, arguments, persuasion, or importunity.
  • whip upTo arouse or excite.
  • abet obsoleteTo urge on, stimulate (a person to do) something desirable.
  • cheer obsoleteTo encourage to do something.
  • grill Scotland, USTo make angry; provoke; offend, incite.
  • move obsoleteTo incite, urge (someone to do something); to solicit (someone for or of an issue); to make a proposal to.
  • whet obsoleteTo inculcate or teach (habits, information, etc.).

Meaning of goad

  1. noun A long, pointed stick used to prod animals.
  2. noun That which goads or incites; a stimulus.
  3. verb To prod with a goad.

Full definition of goad

goad in other languages

Questions about synonyms of goad

What is another word for goad?
Goad has 51 synonyms on Word.ws, such as encourage, push, stimulate, urge, motivate, promote, spur and induce.
What does goad mean?
Goad means a long, pointed stick used to prod animals.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: goad (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this page: “Synonyms of goad.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/goad. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.