motif
noun
a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc., especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.
motifs
-
pluralof motif.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Yes, you’re getting a glorified ad for a tech company, but this wasn’t going to have the uncanny-valley, human-repelling motifs so common in all the other infomercials for A.I. products.
From Slate ● Oct. 1, 2026
Spread by world fairs in European cities, exposure to Islamic design motifs actuated a full-blown aesthetic transformation in architecture, crafts and decor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
The "polka dot queen" channelled hallucinations and battles with mental health into vibrant art featuring her trademark dots, nets and infinity motifs over a career spanning decades and continents.
From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026
More elaborate designs, including hatched bands, grids, and diamond-shaped motifs, also showed evidence of rotation, translation, repetition, and "embedding," i.e., the ability to build hierarchical levels of signs within the same surface.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 9, 2026
The result is that each raga is a collection of melodic scales, phrases, motifs, and ornaments, that may be used together to construct music in that raga.
From "Understanding Basic Music Theory" by Catherine Schmidt-Jones and Russel Jones
