incentive

[ in-sen-tiv ]

/ ɪnˈsɛn tɪv /

SEE SYNONYMS FOR incentive ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

adjective

inciting, as to action; stimulating; provocative.

Words nearby incentive

incense, incense cedar, incense tree, incensory, incenter, incentive, incentive pay, incentive travel, incentivize, incept, inception

Origin of incentive

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

SYNONYMS FOR incentive

1 stimulus, spur, incitement, impulse, encouragement; goad, prod.

SEE SYNONYMS FOR incentive ON THESAURUS.COM

OTHER WORDS FROM incentive

in·cen·tive·ly, adverbcoun·ter·in·cen·tive, nounnon·in·cen·tive, adjectivepre·in·cen·tive, noun

su·per·in·cen·tive, noun, adjective

synonym study for incentive

1. See motive.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020

Example sentences from the Web for incentive

In addition, because House Democrats were cut out of the negotiations over the bill, they don't feel any incentive to play ball.
Nancy Pelosi Plays Hardball On Cromnibus|Ben Jacobs|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As it stands, candidates do not have much of an incentive to come out in favor of same-sex marriage.
Is Gay Marriage Going Away in 2016?|David Freedlander|December 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Until scholars and collectors stop buying, antiquities dealers have no incentive to stop selling.
Dismembering History: The Shady Online Trade in Ancient Texts|Candida Moss|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is an incentive to continue running in the interest of society.
Mexico’s First Lady of Murder Is on the Lam|Michael Daly|October 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Of course, the incentive for the Gingrich team would be not to delete the phony accounts.
Your Fake Followers Are Catfishing You: Bacon Mavens, Newt’s Fake Fans, and Other Social Media Scams|Charles Seife|July 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It has become part of their thought, incentive to their action, source of their energies.
The Nervous Housewife|Abraham Myerson
What a successful man, of marked force of character, has done, may be an incentive and an encouragement to others.
The Bay State Monthly, Vol. II, No. 6, March, 1885|Various
The opportunity and the incentive to emulate increase greatly in scope and urgency.
The Theory of the Leisure Class|Thorstein Veblen
It would not be reasonable to blame Misery or Rushton for not wishing to do good, honest work--there was no incentive.
The Ragged Trousered Philanthropists|Robert Tressell
It means that the incentive to raise cattle will be destroyed.
The Trail Horde|Charles Alden Seltzer

British Dictionary definitions for incentive

incentive

/ (ɪnˈsɛntɪv) /

noun

a motivating influence; stimulus

an additional payment made to employees as a means of increasing production
(as modifier)an incentive scheme

adjective

serving to incite to action

Derived forms of incentive

incentively, adverb

Word Origin for incentive

C15: from Late Latin incentīvus (adj), from Latin: striking up, setting the tune, from incinere to sing, from in- ² + canere to sing

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

incentive

noun

adjective

Words related to incentive

Words nearby incentive

Origin of incentive

SYNONYMS FOR incentive

OTHER WORDS FROM incentive

synonym study for incentive

Example sentences from the Web for incentive

British Dictionary definitions for incentive

noun

adjective

Derived forms of incentive

Word Origin for incentive