motive
noun
something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive.
well-motived
-
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.
De Flores, clear-headed and well-motived, is the most powerful and individual of the post-Shakespearean villains.
From Tragedy by Ashley H. Thorndike
It is by well-motived characterization that drama passes from melodrama to story-play and so to tragedy; or, from the broadest farce or extravaganza through low comedy to high.
From Dramatic Technique by George Pierce Baker
It was not till I had quitted Syria, and when Dthemetri was no longer in my service, that this villainous, though well-motived trick, of his came to my knowledge.
From Eothen, or, Traces of Travel Brought Home from the East by Alexander William Kinglake
