motivated

adjective

mo·​ti·​vat·​ed ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-təd How to pronounce motivated (audio)
: provided with a motive : having an incentive or a strong desire to do well or succeed in some pursuit
a motivated employee
Courses are being offered on college campuses for those who are highly motivated but who without such help often drop out and are lost to society and themselves.Carol Kort
In a sporting context, for example, athletes who consistently seem to play hard and rarely concede defeat are often described as highly motivated or "competitive" by the media.Robert C. Eklund

Examples of motivated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The owner of the kayak rental company, Lee Beale, told Fox News Digital that he was motivated to speak up after learning that the witness wasn't cooperating. Rebecca Rosenberg, Fox News, 17 Nov. 2023 Trump has blasted the district attorney's case as being politically motivated. Olivia Rubin, ABC News, 16 Nov. 2023 Americans are less motivated at work this year compared to last, data from the ADP Research Institute has revealed, with employeeengagement at is lowest level in more than a year and a majority of workers not highly engaged, harming productivity. Barnaby Lashbrooke, Forbes, 13 Nov. 2023 The Mann Act indictment was clearly politically motivated, and Chaplin was exonerated. Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 13 Nov. 2023 State lawmakers must also strengthen government ethics laws to prevent abuses of science for financial gain and require state agencies to implement safeguards against politically motivated censorship of scientific research and data. Jacob Carter, STAT, 10 Nov. 2023 Trump pleaded not guilty to all charges and denied wrongdoing while characterizing the case as politically motivated. Robert Legare, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2023 Palestinians and rights groups say innocent people, including political figures, are being swept up by a broad detention campaign that is politically motivated and aimed at stifling dissent. Omar Abdel-Baqui, WSJ, 5 Nov. 2023 Several leaders of the capital region’s governing party have also been arrested and detained without bail on various charges, including money laundering, moves that some observers have described as politically motivated. Hari Kumar, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'motivated.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of motivated was in 1903

Dictionary Entries Near motivated

Cite this Entry

“Motivated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motivated. Accessed 1 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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