motivator

noun

mo·​ti·​va·​tor ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-tər 

plural motivators

: one that motivates or impels someone or something

a subconscious motivator of behavior

: such as

a

: a factor or situation that causes people to feel motivated to do something : incentive

Only a fool, though, would deny that money is a very real and basic need and, of course, a motivator of sorts.

—Robert W. Corl

Exercising with someone else … can be a motivator.

—Joanne Lannin

Andre Harris, without basketball as a motivator, had slipped back into bad habits academically.

—John Feinstein

b

: a person who motivates others

… won a reputation as a leader and a motivator …

—Leonard Silk

But Romo's not an enabler; he's a motivator, says [Jessica] Simpson. "If I'm not feeling good about myself, he'll say, 'Get your butt up and go to the gym then!'"

—Michelle Tan

Examples of motivator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

His health problems were his most serious obstacle yet, as well as a motivator to reorient himself toward his passion. —H.d. Angel, Pitchfork, 16 June 2026

Haddad, 32, said hearing the national anthem will be Jordan’s greatest motivator, aside from seeing Arab countries’ early success in recent days. —Cam Inman, Mercury News, 16 June 2026

But for the hip-hop titan, their longstanding feud wasn’t the sole motivator behind the film. —Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 3 June 2026

The awareness of economic costs is a good motivator for change. —Rachel Braun Scherl, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above