motive
noun
something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive.
motivelessness
-
a word derived from
motive.
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.
The apparent motivelessness of the thing makes the mystery all the darker, and the circumstances we are acquainted with, instead of helping us, seem to complicate the puzzle.
From The Red Triangle Being Some Further Chronicles of Martin Hewitt, Investigator by Arthur Morrison
For that calm which Gwendolen had promised herself to maintain had changed into sick motivelessness: she thought, "I suppose I shall begin to pretend by-and-by, but why should I do it now?"
From Daniel Deronda by George Eliot
