motivate

[moh-tuh-veyt]

verb (used with object)

motivated, motivating 

1. to provide with a motive, or a cause or reason to act; incite; impel.

   Synonyms: cause, prompt, provoke, move, induce

motivate

/ ˈməʊtɪˌveɪt /

verb

1. (tr) to give incentive to

Other Word Forms

• motivator noun
• demotivate verb (used with object)
• nonmotivated adjective
• remotivate verb (used with object)
• unmotivated adjective
• unmotivating adjective
• well-motivated adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of motivate¹

First recorded in 1860–65; motive + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

“They offered him opportunities to build with his hands and he was super motivated to give back,” Nestor explained.

Read more on Salon

What once was a commanding Black majority is now a white plurality, as longtime residents were either priced out or motivated to sell their now-pricey brownstones.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The greater risk, he suggested, lies in concessions, negotiations or appeasement – call it what you will – that, however well motivated, only serve to further embolden an authoritarian power.

Read more on BBC

The snowball method is a way to motivate people by chipping away at the number of debts they owe, but paying down the highest rate first makes the most sense to me.

Read more on MarketWatch

Police didn’t name the club Lund and Morton worked at or say what might have motivated the killing.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• drive 
• excite 
• galvanize 
• incline 
• inspire 
• persuade 
• prompt 
• propel 
• provoke 
• spark 
• spur 
• sway 
• trigger