1
as in to brush
to pass lightly across or touch gently especially in passing
accidentally nudged me as they squeezed past
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to urge
to try to persuade (someone) through earnest appeals to follow a course of action
the car salesman nudged me into taking a test-drive, even though I had said that I was just looking
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of nudge
Erik Kain, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Under cool conditions, the up-down arrows nudge each other into alignment — all up, say — while the freewheeling arrows point in random directions.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 16 Jan. 2025
Without talking heads or voice-over to nudge things along, stories are told entirely in subtext.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Skellefteå, a small, discreet city in northern Sweden nudged its way into must-visit global tourist rankings after the country’s tallest wooden hotel and cultural center opened there in 2022.
—Maddy Savage, TIME, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for nudge 
Verb
The eyebrows nudged a bit higher when Musk livestreamed himself playing the game, making all kinds of bizarre noob mistakes that no seasoned, experienced top-tier player would ever make.
—Erik Kain, Forbes, 16 Jan. 2025
Under cool conditions, the up-down arrows nudge each other into alignment — all up, say — while the freewheeling arrows point in random directions.
—Charlie Wood, Quanta Magazine, 16 Jan. 2025
Without talking heads or voice-over to nudge things along, stories are told entirely in subtext.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 20 Jan. 2025
Skellefteå, a small, discreet city in northern Sweden nudged its way into must-visit global tourist rankings after the country’s tallest wooden hotel and cultural center opened there in 2022.
—Maddy Savage, TIME, 18 Jan. 2025
See all Example Sentences for nudge
Recent Examples of Synonyms for nudge
Verb
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At the same time, Hyde’s closeness to the material might be why the film is so eager to brush thornier, messier feelings under the rug in favor of something much less interesting.—
Wilson Chapman,
IndieWire,
24 Jan. 2025
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Powder: While the base coat is wet, the nail will be dipped into the colored powder, or the powder can be sprinkled or brushed onto the nail.—
Lisa DeSantis,
Glamour,
22 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Another is that the Los Angeles fires reshaped the night: host Trevor Noah repeatedly urged viewers to donate to relief efforts, ad space was given to local businesses that had burned down, and a group of firefighters presented the evening’s final award.—
Spencer Kornhaber,
The Atlantic,
3 Feb. 2025
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Tea brushes it off, but Toya and Contessa aren’t so quick to buy it, urging her not to be so naïve.—
Shelby Stewart,
Essence,
3 Feb. 2025
Noun
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As the push to regulate technology in schools grows nationwide, Massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell has released a toolkit for school districts to inform cell phone and social media policies across the Commonwealth.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
28 Jan. 2025
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The deregulation push was a great success, with laws enacted in twenty-two states by 1925.—
Livia Gershon,
JSTOR Daily,
28 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Busch and his team would love to pose for more pictures kissing the bricks at IMS following Sunday’s race.—
Clifton Brown,
Indianapolis Star,
17 July 2017
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The trainer turns and kisses one of the man-eaters on the nose.—
Holly Millea,
Smithsonian,
29 June 2017
Verb
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But Wilson said he was encouraged to engage with UCSD students.—
Noah Lyons,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
25 Jan. 2025
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Instead, the coach is encouraged by what he’s seen from the mobile blueliner as of late.—
Kevin Kurz,
The Athletic,
25 Jan. 2025
Noun
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My job was to go over there and not be a jerk and try to advance the stand-up ball a couple of yards for the next guy that comes over there.—
Ethan Shanfeld,
Variety,
14 Jan. 2025
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Drugs and being a selfish jerk threaten everything, of course, and seeing a chimp go through the out-of-control partying instead of a normal dude is a bit different.—
Brian Truitt,
USA TODAY,
9 Jan. 2025
Verb
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The police chief touched the gun and his wife’s body shortly after the shot was fired.—
Ariane Lange,
Sacramento Bee,
26 Jan. 2025
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Any woman who has been inappropriately touched in the workplace will recognize Ms. Lively’s discomfort.—
Christina Dugan Ramirez,
Fox News,
26 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near nudge
Cite this Entry
“Nudge.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/nudge. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
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