as in incentive
something that arouses action or activity
fear of failing should be plenty of motivation to study for the test
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of motivation
Darya Minovi, a senior analyst at the Union of Concerned Scientists, pointed to that pending change as a possible motivation for not publishing the PFNA assessment.
—
Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025
To wit, at times the camera tracks Hedda’s movements in long, unbroken takes as if engaged in an endless, ongoing search for her motivations—and interiority.
—Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
Trump’s comment raises questions about the independence of federal prosecutors and the appearance of political motivations behind high-profile investigations.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Your family was a big motivation for playing Survivor.
—Terry Terrones, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Sharon Lerner, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2025
To wit, at times the camera tracks Hedda’s movements in long, unbroken takes as if engaged in an endless, ongoing search for her motivations—and interiority.
—Literary Hub, 10 Oct. 2025
Trump’s comment raises questions about the independence of federal prosecutors and the appearance of political motivations behind high-profile investigations.
—Deputy News Editor, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
Your family was a big motivation for playing Survivor.
—Terry Terrones, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivation
Noun
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Washington can stomach Sarr’s undisciplined shot diet because the team, still early in its rebuild, has little incentive to win right now.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Finance is full of bad incentives and outright exploitation.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Yet the attack would provide the impetus for the peace pact.—
Karl Vick,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025
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How a concert led to the documentary The impetus for the documentary came from an October 2021 concert at the Indiana History Center that raised money for an Indianapolis Jewish Community Relations Council initiative to educate people about the Holocaust and combat hatred, bigotry and antisemitism.—
Domenica Bongiovanni,
IndyStar,
9 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
His words of encouragement before every game.—
Michael Nowels,
Mercury News,
13 Oct. 2025
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Matt Deaner, Screen Producers Australia CEO, sees key encouragement coming from national broadcaster the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.—
Paul Chai,
Variety,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Part of what has led to this situation is the cheap money flowing into markets in recent years thanks to the ballooning national debt used to fuel stimulus as well as quantitative easing during the COVID pandemic.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
9 Oct. 2025
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Investors interpreted the outcome as signaling continued stimulus and a steady hand at the Bank of Japan, easing fears of policy tightening in the near term.—
Yun Li,
CNBC,
6 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motivation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivation. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.
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