ulterior motive

[uhl-teer-ee-er moh-tiv]

noun

1. a secret reason for doing something; a purpose, often the main purpose, that is kept hidden.

   When his enemy the Sheriff of Nottingham calls for an archery contest, Robin Hood suspects an ulterior motive, namely, to flush Robin out of hiding.

   It turns out she had an ulterior motive for being so friendly and helpful—she was a con artist hoping to sign me up.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ulterior motive¹

First recorded in 1800–10

Example Sentences

And by end of the first episode at least — and I hope I’m not spoiling anything — we learned that there’s an ulterior motive here, which is her daughter has died from opioid use and she believes that the Chicago law firm where she now works is sort of responsible for the cover-up.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Perhaps she has an ulterior motive; so many of these characters do.

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But there’s an ulterior motive at play, according to Bruce.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

In response, Kenya's foreign ministry said there was "no ulterior motive" in "providing non-partisan platforms to conflict parties".

Read more on BBC

But the “Severance” creator reveals an ulterior motive in that confrontation.

Read more on Salon

Related Words

• ambition 
• aspiration 
• desire 
• determination 
• direction 
• function 
• goal 
• idea 
• intent 
• objective 
• plan 
• principle 
• project 
• reason 
• scheme 
• scope 
• view 
• wish