Goads

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provoke or annoy someone into action or behavior through persistence or encouragement
2. To encourage or stimulate someone towards a certain action, often through irritation or challenge
3. To incite someone to act, typically by using an irritating or teasing approach

Etymology: "Goads" is the third-person singular present of "goad," the verb meaning to prod someone or something into action. The noun it comes from once described a physical object: a sharp spear or pointed stick. That ancestor, Old English "gād," meant a spear, and the Proto-Germanic root behind it, *gaidō, also gave Old Norse "gedda," the word for a pike, the fish with its spear-like snout. The sense of driving forward came from the weapon itself. A goad was the sharpened stick used to urge oxen along, so to goad someone meant to jab them forward, and only later did it come to mean pushing a person by taunts or provocation. The same ancient root reaches far into other languages, including Sanskrit "hinoti," meaning to urge on or throw, and Old Irish "gath," meaning spear.

Synonyms: prods, spurs, incites, provokes, stimulates

Antonyms: calms, soothes, pacifies, represses, dissuades