motivate
Americanverb (used with object)
verb
Other Word Forms
- demotivate verb (used with object)
- motivator noun
- nonmotivated adjective
- remotivate verb (used with object)
- unmotivated adjective
- unmotivating adjective
- well-motivated adjective
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
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.
“You would think that would motivate people,” said Tom O’Saben, director of tax content and government relations with the National Association of Tax Professionals.
From MarketWatch • Apr. 9, 2026
He says the hope it engenders can not only help people cope emotionally with a cancer diagnosis but can even motivate them to seek treatment.
From Slate • Mar. 29, 2026
By prioritising this, he is seeking to motivate the party's core support and win back independence minded voters who have drifted away.
From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026
This threat is acute enough that observers are warning that the ability to anonymously make such large bets on current events could motivate the people involved to alter outcomes for their own financial benefit.
From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026
I kept hoping the explanation would turn out to be more complex, that there’d turn out to be more than pure, blind hatred to motivate their actions.
From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi
Definitions 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.
