Syn: move, prompt, incite, induce impel, drive. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English. 2000.
motivate — mo‧ti‧vate [ˈməʊtveɪt ǁ ˈmoʊ ] verb [transitive] 1. HUMAN RESOURCES to encourage someone and make them want to work hard: • The profit sharing plan is designed to motivate the staff. motivate somebody to do something • The project manager may… … Financial and business terms
motivate — motivate, motivation Motivation has a special meaning in psychology which the OED defines as ‘the conscious or unconscious stimulus for action towards a desired goal especially as resulting from psychological or social factors; the factors giving … Modern English usage
motivate — I verb activate, actuate, adjure, advise, affect, allure, animate, appeal, arouse desire, attract, captivate, carry weight, cause, challenge, charge, command, compel, convince, direct, draw, encourage, exert influence, exhort, fill with longing,… … Law dictionary
motivate — (v.) 1863, to stimulate toward action, from MOTIVE (Cf. motive) + ATE (Cf. ate) (2); perhaps modeled on Fr. motiver or Ger. motivieren. Related: Motivated; motivating … Etymology dictionary
motivate — actuate, *activate Analogous words: stimulate, quicken, *provoke, excite: arouse, rouse, *stir: inspire, animate, fire, *inform … New Dictionary of Synonyms
motivate — [v] stimulate, instigate actuate, arouse, bring, cause, dispose, draw, drive, egg on*, excite, fire, galvanize, give incentive, goad, goose*, impel, incite, incline, induce, innervate, innerve, inspire, inspirit, lead, move, persuade, pique,… … New thesaurus
motivate — ► VERB 1) provide with a motive for doing something. 2) stimulate the interest of. DERIVATIVES motivator noun … English terms dictionary
motivate — [mōt′ə vāt΄] vt. motivated, motivating to provide with, or affect as, a motive or motives; incite or impel motivation n. motivational adj. motivative adj. motivator n … English World dictionary
motivate */*/ — UK [ˈməʊtɪveɪt] / US [ˈmoʊtɪˌveɪt] verb [transitive] Word forms motivate : present tense I/you/we/they motivate he/she/it motivates present participle motivating past tense motivated past participle motivated 1) to make someone feel determined to … English dictionary
motivate — mo|ti|vate [ˈməutıveıt US ˈmou ] v [T] 1.) to be the reason why someone does something = ↑drive ▪ Would you say that he was motivated solely by a desire for power? motivate sb to do sth ▪ We may never know what motivated him to kill his wife. 2.) … Dictionary of contemporary English
