incentive

American  

[in-sen-tiv] / ɪnˈsɛn tɪv /

noun

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

Related Words

See motive.

Other Word Forms

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

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

Example Sentences

A treasurer who must face voters every four years has a powerful incentive to say no when the numbers look off.

From The Wall Street Journal

Better to use a more revealing statistic that gets the incentives right.

From The Wall Street Journal

Applying only to certain carbon-intensive sectors, it raises prices to reflect the cost of embedded carbon and so creates a perverse incentive to outsource production of downstream goods.

From The Wall Street Journal

Tesla shareholders this fall approved a new 2025 incentive plan for Musk, potentially worth $1 trillion if performance metrics are met.

From Barron's

Tesla shareholders this fall approved a new 2025 incentive plan for Musk, potentially worth $1 trillion if performance metrics are met.

From Barron's

Related Words

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