motivate

[ moh-tuh-veyt ]
See synonyms for motivate on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object),mo·ti·vat·ed, mo·ti·vat·ing.
  1. to provide with a motive, or a cause or reason to act; incite; impel.

Origin of motivate

1
First recorded in 1860–65; motive + -ate1

Other words for motivate

Other words from motivate

  • mo·ti·va·tor, noun
  • de·mo·ti·vate, verb (used with object), de·mo·ti·vat·ed, de·mo·ti·vat·ing.
  • non·mo·ti·vat·ed, adjective
  • re·mo·ti·vate, verb (used with object), re·mo·ti·vat·ed, re·mo·ti·vat·ing.
  • un·mo·ti·vat·ed, adjective
  • un·mo·ti·vat·ing, adjective
  • well-mo·ti·vat·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use motivate in a sentence

  • A similar unconscious impulse motivates each member of the crowd.

    The Behavior of Crowds | Everett Dean Martin
  • Entry is also made of the incentive which motivates the solution of the problem presented by the situation.

    Sound Military Decision | U.s. Naval War College
  • It is the hunger of self-indulgent Charlotte which motivates the staying and gives us the supper “scene.”

    Dramatic Technique | George Pierce Baker
  • Thus the writing takes place when the husband is off stage, and the evident chagrin of Lady Carlyon motivates it better.

    Dramatic Technique | George Pierce Baker
  • But all the same Heliodorus motivates his plot by this popular belief in dreams and epiphanies.

    Essays on the Greek Romances | Elizabeth Hazelton Haight

British Dictionary definitions for motivate

motivate

/ (ˈməʊtɪˌveɪt) /


verb
  1. (tr) to give incentive to

Derived forms of motivate

  • motivator, noun

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