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• motive
  motive

  noun

  something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive.
• -motive
  -motive

  a combining form of motive.

motive

¹ American  

[moh-tiv] / ˈmoʊ tɪv /

noun

• motives
  plural

1. something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive.

   Synonyms:

   cause, ground, occasion, influence, spur, stimulus, incitement, motivation

2. the goal or object of a person's actions.

   Her motive was revenge.

3. (in art, literature, and music) a motif.

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adjective

1. causing, or tending to cause, motion.

2. pertaining to motion.

3. prompting to action.

4. constituting a motive or motives.

verb (used with object)

• motives,
  present (3rd person singular)
• motived,
  past participle,  past
• motiving
  present participle

1. to motivate.

-motive ² American  

1. a combining form of motive.

   automotive.

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motive British  

/ ˈməʊtɪv /

noun

1. the reason for a certain course of action, whether conscious or unconscious

2. a variant of motif

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adjective

1. of or causing motion or action

   a motive force

2. of or acting as a motive; motivating

verb

1. to motivate

Usage

What does motive mean? A motive is something that causes a person to act in a certain way, as in Luciana’s motive for studying was the F she got on the last exam. A motive can also be the reward or benefit received for completing an action in a certain way or time, as in Yosef’s motive for signing up for the hike was to climb to the top of the mountain. Motive can also describe something as relating to motion or movement, such as a motive engine. A common misuse of this form is auto motive. The term automotive comes from the term, but it is a standalone word, not a phrase. Example: We need to identify a motive before we can continue investigating.

Synonym Usage

Motive, incentive, inducement apply to whatever moves one to action. Motive is, literally, something that moves a person; an inducement, something that leads a person on; an incentive, something that inspires a person. Motive is applied mainly to an inner urge that moves or prompts a person to action, though it may also apply to a contemplated result, the desire for which moves the person: His motive was a wish to be helpful. Inducement is never applied to an inner urge, and seldom to a goal: The pleasure of wielding authority may be an inducement to get ahead. It is used mainly of opportunities offered by the acceptance of certain conditions, whether these are offered by a second person or by the factors of the situation: The salary offered me was a great inducement. Incentive was once used of anything inspiring or stimulating the emotions or imagination: incentives to piety; it has retained of this its emotional connotations, but (rather like inducement ) is today applied only to something offered as a reward, and offered particularly to stimulate competitive activity: to create incentives for higher achievement. See reason.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• motivelessness
  noun
• motiveless
  adjective
• well-motived
  adjective
• motivelessly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• motives
  plural

Participles

• motiving
  present
• motived
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• motive
  simple
• motives
  simple
• have motived
  perfect
• has motived
  perfect
• am motiving
  progressive
• are motiving
  progressive
• is motiving
  progressive
• have been motiving
  perfect progressive
• has been motiving
  perfect progressive

Past

• motived
  simple
• had motived
  perfect
• was motiving
  progressive
• were motiving
  progressive
• had been motiving
  perfect progressive

Future

• will motive
  simple
• will have motived
  perfect
• will be motiving
  progressive
• will have been motiving
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of motive

First recorded in 1325–75; (for the adjective) Middle English, from Middle French motif, from Medieval Latin mōtīvus “serving to move,” from Latin mōt(us) “moved” (past participle of movēre “to move”; see move) + -īvus -ive; noun derivative of the adjective

Explanation

Your reason for doing something is your motive. Your motive to go to school every day is to learn. Or maybe the thought of your parents' anger and a run-in with the truant officer is motive enough. The word motive comes from the Latin words motivus, meaning moving, and movere, meaning to move. Think of motive as the thing that moves you to act. You often hear of motive in the context of crime––a suspect’s fingerprints may be on the murder weapon, but a detective won’t understand the crime until he understands the motive. What made the killer act?

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

motive motives motived motiving

The useful motive is the one everyone thinks of first: I need that potato peeler.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

Police haven’t so far identified a motive, though security officials suspect U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Police have not disclosed any motive for his killing.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

British authorities have not publicly identified a motive or said who they believe was behind the alleged plot.

From Salon ● Sep. 27, 2026

Whatever his motive, she wasn’t about to give an inch.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline

The Emirati probe will look at all possible motives for the pilot assault in the Israel-bound plane’s cockpit.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

There are roughly a dozen distinct motives for keeping things, Ekerdt said, and they break down into two broad camps: things that are useful and things that are symbolic.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026

A police investigation into the attacker's motives is now under way.

From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026

I’m interested in people’s motives behind storytelling and what’s in, what’s cool, what’s hot, what has currency, and what are the intentions of the people telling those stories?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 15, 2026

Watching him tend to Mrs. Healey, I would never again have reason to question his motives.

From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals

Hong Kong has become a focus under heightened US-China tensions, which motived him to pay more attention to international affairs, Kam said.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 15, 2023

“I said my philosophy is motived by the Beatitudes and by Matthew 25:40 about the ‘least of these,’” Mr. Kennedy recounted.

From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2022

“I think that’s why I have useful expertise in trying to solve problems, and am motived to work hard with other stakeholders on consensus solutions.”

From Washington Post ● Oct. 23, 2017

Here are 21 inspiring quotes that will get you hyped up and keep you motived as an entrepreneur.

From Time ● Aug. 18, 2015

Clingman afterward admitted that the Southern opposition was motived by reluctance to admit new free Territories.

From Stephen A. Douglas A Study in American Politics by Allen Johnson

And through all the talk, through the busy routine of the place, in the men and women working in the hospital, there emerged always that something unseen,—Idea, Will, Spirit, the motiving force of the whole.

From Together by Robert Herrick

But your Lamia has taught you some subtle 'viperine' reasoning and motiving, for the turning down one street instead of another.

From The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Vol. 1 (of 2) 1845-1846 by Robert Browning

Her conception of a play of passion forbids motiving of character, or integration of the development of character with action.

From Tragedy by Ashley H. Thorndike

Related Words

• aim
• cause
• consideration
• emotion
• feeling
• idea
• impulse
• influence
• intent
• intention
• motivation
• passion
• rationale