Showing results for "driven"

• past participle of drive.

driven

American  

[driv-uhn] / ˈdrɪv ən /

verb

1. past participle of drive.

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adjective

1. being under compulsion, as to succeed or excel.

   a driven young man who was fiercely competitive.

2. controlled or propelled by something specified (used in combination).

   a market-driven approach to retaining talent; data-driven business strategies; a water pump that is solar driven.

driven British  

/ ˈdrɪvən /

verb

1. the past participle of drive

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driven Idioms  

1. see pure as the driven snow.

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Other Word Forms

• drivenness
  noun
• undriven
  adjective
• well-driven
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of driven

First recorded in 1300–50, for the adjective for an earlier sense

Explanation

If you're driven, you're strongly compelled or motivated to achieve a goal. If you're a driven gymnast, you spend hours in the gym each night perfecting your balance beam routine. If you know someone who is incredibly ambitious and hard working, you can call them driven. It takes a driven student to make it through medical school, and a driven dog musher to complete the Iditarod. In other words, you need drive, or determination, to achieve these things. Driven can also mean "moved and piled into drifts by wind," often in the phrase "driven snow." When combined with another noun, it can mean "propelled or powered," as in "a wind-driven boat."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

driven

Therapies might eventually be designed to disrupt the intense gene activity driven by super-enhancers or prevent tumor cells from repairing the resulting DNA damage.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 2, 2026

Bush's own barrister Richard Wright KC said "greed, incompetence and an inability to keep up with his own failings" had driven the crimes.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

The first car to make the crossing was in 1902, a brand-new vehicle called an Autocar, driven by the then-legendary master of the fancy flivver, Ralph Hamlin.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026

Kalshi representative Elisabeth Diana said on Friday that the lawsuit would hurt New Yorkers, who would be "driven offshore."

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Franz Ferdinand then asked to be driven to the hospital so he could visit the two wounded officers.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman