motivated

adjective

mo·​ti·​vat·​ed ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-təd 

: 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

But sometimes just thinking about tackling those jobs can feel exhausting, creating a barrier to success even for people who are highly motivated to improve their homes and their lives by exerting control over their belongings. — Jolie Kerr, Washington Post, 18 July 2026

Small, highly motivated factions therefore wield outsized influence over who wins office. — J.c. Polanco, New York Daily News, 17 July 2026

Bakers who love the activity as a creative hobby are just as motivated to show off their skills for their passion, Glasco Duru said. — Zuri Primos july 16, Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026

Clickfix has emerged as an effective attack technique that attackers, primarily financially motivated criminals, began using in the last year or so. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 16 July 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing motivated

• self-motivated

Rhymes for motivated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• agitated
• allocated
• alternated