motivational
Americanadjective
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of or relating to motivation, a person's reason for acting in a certain way.
The research investigated the motivational factors influencing people’s decision to volunteer with community organizations.
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inspiring or seeking to inspire people to act in a certain way, especially so as to overcome obstacles and achieve success, happiness, etc..
He mentors inner city youth, telling his motivational story at local schools.
Since her diagnosis, she has become an HIV/AIDS educator, motivational speaker, and activist.
Other Word Forms
- antimotivational adjective
- nonmotivational adjective
Etymology
Origin of motivational
Explanation
Anything motivational makes you want to do something — or at least be willing to do it. When you're training your dog, the treats in your pocket can be used as motivational tools. If someone gives a motivational speech, their purpose is to try to get people excited about doing or trying something. A football coach's motivational talk to his team, for example, is intended to inspire the players to win the game. In other words, what the coach says motivates the team to play well. Both motivate and motivational come from the Old French motif, "drive or motivation," from motivus, "moving" in Medieval Latin.
Vocabulary lists containing motivational
The Poet X
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With the Fire on High
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Promises to Keep
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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.
Through Stacy’s fetching sadness, we come to know that maybe a certain motivational speaker was right.
From Salon • Mar. 23, 2026
Meanwhile, Emery said he used the struggles of their Premier League rivals in the Champions League as a motivational tool before kick-off.
From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026
Another wake-up app is Alarmy, which has its roughly 900,000 daily U.S. users complete “missions” such as doing squats, shaking their phone or typing out motivational quotes before it stops sounding.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 4, 2026
As January drew to a close, I weaned myself off the motivational videos.
From Slate • Feb. 15, 2026
One of Gay’s friends, Lou Heckler, is a professional motivational speaker.
From "Three Little Words: A Memoir" by Ashley Rhodes-Courter
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.
