Synonyms

motivate

American

[moh-tuh-veyt] / ˈmoʊ təˌveɪt /

verb (used with object)

to provide with a motive, or a cause or reason to act; incite; impel.

Synonyms:

cause, prompt, provoke, move, induce

motivate British

/ ˈməʊtɪˌveɪt /

verb

(tr) to give incentive to

"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

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of motivate

First recorded in 1860–65; motive + -ate ¹

Explanation

To give someone the incentive to act in a certain way is to motivate that person. If you give your dad a food-processor for his birthday, you might motivate him to help out with the cooking. The verb motivate means to prompt or incite. By giving speeches on college campuses across the country, John F. Kennedy motivated a lot of young people to join the Peace Corps in the early 1960s. People are not always motivated in positive ways, however. When a crime is described as racially motivated, it means the perpetrators picked their victim because of the color of his skin.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing motivate

List 5

Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!

NAEP Test Words

Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!

Mother's Day Words: What Mothers Do

Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

The company has said it hopes that the R2’s specs will help motivate people who hadn’t considered EVs in the past.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 16, 2026

Granting executives options that become highly valuable at the IPO can help motivate managers to complete the offering.

From Salon • Jun. 13, 2026

Arguably, the most difficult part of the role was not the on-field stuff at all - he knows more than anybody how to organise and motivate Celtic players and how to engage with Celtic supporters.

From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026

What else could motivate him into action quite like some Lorne Michaels mentee?

From Slate • Jun. 11, 2026

Slamming the door does not motivate Axel to race around the car and jump inside; if anything, it leaves him frozen for a moment.

From "A Bird Will Soar" by Alison Green Myers

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023