incentive

American  

[in-sen-tiv] / ɪnˈsɛn tɪv /

noun

• incentives
  plural

1. 

   something that incites or tends to incite to action or greater effort, as a reward offered for increased productivity.

   Synonyms:

   prod, goad, encouragement, impulse, incitement, spur, stimulus

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adjective

1. inciting, as to action; stimulating; provocative.

incentive British  

/ ɪnˈsɛntɪv /

noun

1. a motivating influence; stimulus

2. 1. an additional payment made to employees as a means of increasing production

   2. ( as modifier )

      an incentive scheme

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adjective

1. serving to incite to action

Synonym Usage

See motive.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• counterincentive
  noun
• preincentive
  noun
• superincentive
  noun
• nonincentive
  adjective
• incentively
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• incentives
  plural

Etymology

Origin of incentive

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Late Latin incentīvus “provocative,” in Latin: “setting the tune,” from incent(us) “played” (past participle of incinere “to play (an instrument, tunes),” from in- in- ² + -cinere, combining form of canere “to sing”) + -īvus -ive

Explanation

If your mom wants you to mow the lawn but you don't feel like it, she might offer to treat you to ice cream after as an incentive. An incentive is something that stimulates you to take action or work harder. This noun dates back to Middle English, from Late Latin incentivum, from incentivus, "stimulating." In Latin, incentivus meant "setting the tune," from incinere, "to sing." The related English verb is incentivize. The less common verb incent was first used in the early 1980s, and has been criticized as business jargon.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

incentive incentives

If for the Dodgers team to inspire, maybe he got them upset enough that it will provide additional incentive.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2026

Another student challenged his plan for public participation in A.I. companies, asking whether the government would then have its own financial incentive to encourage the technology’s growth.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026

"People may revert to their prior behavioural patterns because the incentive payments are insufficient when the enthusiasm has waned," said Ferraro, an expert in human behaviour and public policy.

From Barron's ● Sep. 17, 2026

Mr. Zuckerberg also noted that “labs face significant liability if their models cause harm, so they have a strong incentive to prevent this as well.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026

It’s worth thinking about the incentive a wrestler might have to throw a match.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

My own view is that their leaders are now fully enmeshed in pre-emptory incentives of the marketplace, of politics, of regulation.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

She said outsourcing patient appointments had created financial incentives which were potentially "a risk to clinical standards".

From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026

Ninety-three percent of the flagged activity involved tasks no model had ever solved, and the systems had been given incentives to keep working rather than quit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg pushed back Tuesday against growing calls to pause or slow AI development, arguing that market incentives and legal liability are the best safeguards against the technology's risks.

From Barron's ● Sep. 16, 2026

Even in life or death situations, doctors, nurses, and patients all responded to bad incentives.

From "The Big Short" by Michael Lewis

Related Words

• encouragement
• enticement
• impetus
• motivation
• reason
• stimulus