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Synonyms

motivate

American

[moh-tuh-veyt] / ˈmoʊ təˌveɪt /

verb (used with object)

to provide with a motive, or a cause or reason to act; incite; impel.

Synonyms:

cause, prompt, provoke, move, induce

motivate British

/ ˈməʊtɪˌveɪt /

verb

(tr) to give incentive to

"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

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Etymology

Origin of motivate

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

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.

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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.

Hospital director Srimant Kumar Mishra said the most difficult part is to motivate patients to be operated on.

From Barron's • May 27, 2026

The officials have also housed pending deportees at facilities, many of them crowded, as a way to motivate them to leave.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

Then there was the Hollywood fear factor to motivate him.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 30, 2026

Earnings from these “Magnificent Seven” companies may be enough to move the stock market, but it’s yet to be seen whether they’ll be enough to motivate retail investors.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026

I won’t have Jonah there to motivate me.

From "Keeping Pace" by Laurie Morrison

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023