Overgoad

Part of speech: verb

Definitions

1. To provoke or urge someone on too intensely, pushing them past a reasonable point with repeated prodding
2. To stimulate or spur a person or animal to an excessive degree, driving them harder than is wise or necessary
3. To incite someone beyond what is appropriate by prodding them relentlessly until they react too strongly

Etymology: Before it meant pushing people too hard, the root of this word was a physical tool. "Goad" comes from an Old English word meaning a spike or pointed stick, and a goad was the rod farmers used to prod oxen along. The figurative sense of spurring someone on grew from that image of a sharp prod. "Over-" is a prefix meaning excess, long used with verbs in English. "Overgoad" is a plain compound with no separate history, so its meaning follows from its two parts: to prod someone too sharply or too often.

Synonyms: provoke, incite, goad

Antonyms: soothe, pacify