nudge
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nudge¹
- /nʌd͡ʒ/ Canada, US, UK
- /nɐd͡ʒ/ Australia, New Zealand
Rhymes with -ʌdʒ
Where it comes from
Circa 17th century, perhaps of North Germanic origin, related to Norwegian nugge, nyggje (“to push, rub, shove”), Icelandic nugga (“to rub, massage”), from the root of Proto-Germanic *hnōjaną (“to smooth, join together”), from Proto-Indo-European *kneh₂- (compare Ancient Greek κνάω (knáō, “to scratch, scrape”), source of English acnestis).
Compare also Scots nodge (“to push, poke, nudge”), knidge (“to push, squeeze”), gnidge (“to rub, press, squeeze, bruise”), and knudge (“to squeeze, press down with the knuckles”), Saterland Frisian Nukke, Nuk (“a sudden push”), Middle Low German nucke, nücke, gnücke (“a sudden push, shock, impetus”). Compare also dialectal nuch (“to tremble”), Middle English nuchen (“to tremble”).
noun nudges · nug
- A gentle push. give someone a nudge
- A feature of instant messaging software used to get the attention of another user, as by shaking the conversation window or playing a sound.
- The rotation by one step of a fruit machine reel of the player's choice. Since the machine was showing two lemons and a cherry, I decided to try a nudge.
- The use of positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence. All this experimentation is yielding insights into which nudges give the biggest shove. One question is whether nudges can be designed to harness existing social norms. In Copenhagen Pelle Guldborg Hansen, founder of the Danish Nudging Network, a non-profit organisation, tested two potential “social
verb nudges · nudging · nudged · nug
-
To push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal.
Libertarian paternalism is the view that, because the way options are presented to citizens affects what they choose, society should present options in a way that “nudges” our intuitive selves to make choices that are more consistent with what our more deliberative selves would have chosen if they w
Similar: jog
- To near or come close to something. This year's profits are nudging the 10 million mark.
- To move slightly. But a serious public health and economic crisis, and the responses to it from commonwealth and state governments, seems to have nudged some “protest” voters back into the major party fold.
Similar: bump, disrupt, disturb, jog, nudge, poke, push, shift, tap, upset · Opposite: pull, tug
nudge²
noun nudges
- Alternative form of nudzh Grace is portrayed as an overly neurotic nudge who recites her own poetry, loves complicated situations, and is in the process of coming out to her liberal, middle class, Jewish parents.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: prod, poke at, push, impulse, propel, impetus, boost, poke, move, stimulus, displace, drive, slight, understand, scroll, dig
Translations
Every language
noun a gentle push
| Español | pequeño empujón, empujoncito, envite |
|---|---|
| Português | cutucão |
| Français | petit coup de coude, petite tape amicale |
| Deutsch | Stups (leise oder heimlich), Schubs, Stoß, Stupser, Knuff, Puff |
| Italiano | spintarella |
| Ελληνικά | σκούντημα skoúntima |
| Русский | лёгкий толчо́к ljóxkij |
noun behavioral economics: the use of positive reinforcement and indirect suggestions as ways to influence
| Français | nudge |
|---|---|
| Italiano | incoraggiamento |
verb to push against gently, especially in order to gain attention or give a signal
| Español | empujar ligeramente, dar un empujoncito a, envidar |
|---|---|
| Français | donner un petit coup de coude, donner une petite tape amicale |
| Deutsch | anstoßen, anschubsen, anstupsen, schubsen, stupsen, schupfen |
| Italiano | sospingere |
| Ελληνικά | σκουντώ skountó, σκουντάω skountáo |
| Русский | подталкивать podtalkivatʹ |
verb to near or come close to something
| Deutsch | sich annähern, sich nähern |
|---|---|
| Italiano | lambire |
| Русский | приближаться približatʹsja, приблизится priblizitsja |
Talk about this word "nudge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/nudge. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. nudge. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/nudge "nudge." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/nudge.Cite this
@misc{nudge_2026,
title = {nudge},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/nudge},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
