motivate
Americanverb (used with object)
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motivates,
present (3rd person singular)
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motivated,
past participle, past
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motivating
present participle
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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motivatornoun
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demotivateverb (used with object)
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remotivateverb (used with object)
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nonmotivatedadjective
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unmotivatedadjective
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unmotivatingadjective
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well-motivatedadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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motivatesimple
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motivatessimple
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have motivatedperfect
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has motivatedperfect
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am motivatingprogressive
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are motivatingprogressive
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is motivatingprogressive
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have been motivatingperfect progressive
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has been motivatingperfect progressive
Past
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motivatedsimple
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had motivatedperfect
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was motivatingprogressive
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were motivatingprogressive
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had been motivatingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of motivate
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.
Vocabulary lists containing motivate
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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.
See Examples For:
Garfield, a pediatrician at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, said his experiences with families in the neonatal intensive care unit helped motivate the research.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 8, 2026
Outside a grocery store, 60-year-old nurse Aila Heilima said she hoped the investment would "motivate young people to stay" in Muhos for work, instead of moving to bigger towns in search of job opportunities.
From Barron's ● Oct. 4, 2026
"Experience shows that I only come back stronger and all of these lessons this season definitely already made me stronger, but definitely going to motivate me for the next year to do better job."
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
We should then train adults to motivate, coach and hold students accountable for their progress.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 11, 2026
The novelty of a pretrial capital defendant on death row seemed to motivate other prisoners to get in Walter's ear every day.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
It also allows managers to spend more time on what they’re uniquely qualified to do, while creating an environment that motivates employees.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026
“And if it hurts, hopefully it motivates those who are in power to make sure that when these things come to light, they put a stop to it.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
This link between thinking and doing serves a clear function – it motivates us to get the necessities for life.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026
Her relationship frequently crosses boundaries, but Maddie permits it because the attention makes her feel good and motivates her disorder.
From Salon ● Aug. 8, 2026
I often wonder what motivates other scythes to do so.
From "Scythe" by Neal Shusterman
Attendees came from all over Texas and were motivated far more by Pulido’s celebrity than his candidacy.
From Slate ● Nov. 2, 2026
Some people may not want to work in the field anymore; others may now feel motivated to.
From Barron's ● Oct. 30, 2026
As deadlines for the ports’ clean-air goals are approaching, they are motivated to accelerate the transition to green vehicles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 29, 2026
A West Midlands haulage company has said thieves are motivated by rising fuel prices after they stole 400 litres of diesel.
From BBC ● Oct. 29, 2026
Martin Luther King, Jr., was referring to this reality when, asked what motivated Rosa Parks that afternoon in Montgomery, he replied, “She had been tracked down by the Zeitgeist.”
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
At campaign events in the Rio Grande Valley in September, several voters cited Hinojosa’s identity and approach to politics as a motivating factor.
From Salon ● Nov. 2, 2026
“If your focus is on the thing you want, then it’s more benign and more motivating if you recognize that,” Kim says.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 8, 2026
What we found was disheartening but also motivating.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Hoang says a motivating factor for her film was to confront cultural norms.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
The arts, however, can be used effectively to augment this method, motivating students and appealing to their innate artistry and humanity.
From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
