motivation

American  

[moh-tuh-vey-shuhn] / ˌmoʊ təˈveɪ ʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of motivating, or providing with a reason to act in a certain way.

   I don't understand what her motivation was for quitting her job.

   Synonyms:

   impetus, cause, inducement, inspiration, motive

2. the state or condition of being motivated or having a strong reason to act or accomplish something.

   We know that these students have strong motivation to learn.

3. something that motivates; inducement; incentive.

   Clearly, the company's long-term motivation is profit.

---

motivation British  

/ ˌməʊtɪˈveɪʃən /

noun

1. the act or an instance of motivating

2. desire to do; interest or drive

3. incentive or inducement

4. psychol the process that arouses, sustains and regulates human and animal behaviour

---

Other Word Forms

• demotivation noun
• motivational adjective
• motivative adjective
• nonmotivation noun
• remotivation noun

Etymology

Origin of motivation

First recorded in 1870–75; motive + -ation

Explanation

People often need motivation to do tasks they'd prefer not to do. Do you work? Your motivation is your paycheck. Lost something? Finding it may provide motivation to tidy the house. At the root of the word motivation is the word motive, which is similarly defined as the reason for a particular action. Although the words are synonyms, when it comes to criminal behavior, people generally ask about the motives leading to the criminal acts, not the motivation behind them. Other synonyms for motivation include inspiration and enthusiasm, so people tend to associate motivation with positive acts.

Example Sentences

After all, there’s little motivation to buy potato chip makers when semiconductor chip makers deliver such astronomical returns.

From Barron's • Apr. 28, 2026

Now each will have motivation through the last month of the track season pushing each other to practice harder and soar higher.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 27, 2026

He adds that unfortunate events or unexpected injuries can undermine motivation but don’t have to cut a creative life short.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

The motivation for the shooting remains unclear, but Trump has said he hopes to be able to give an update on Sunday.

From BBC • Apr. 26, 2026

We had all suffered beyond dignity with the loss of two of our group, and the thought of getting one of them back made us almost unreasonable with motivation.

From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline

Related Words

• catalyst
• desire
• encouragement
• impetus
• impulse
• incentive
• inclination
• interest
• motive
• reason
• wish