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

Sarkozy has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and claims the allegations are politically motivated. —ABC News, 7 Apr. 2026

Ortega said she was motivated to introduce AB 2321 because of what the auditor reported about Cal-OSHA’s Bureau of Investigation, the unit responsible for investigating death and career-ending injuries for criminal misconduct. —Joe Rubin, Sacbee.com, 6 Apr. 2026

Moore’s team has complained both publicly and privately that the investigation is needlessly hostile and politically motivated. —Max Tani, semafor.com, 6 Apr. 2026

As for what has kept her motivated all these years? —Taijuan Moorman, USA Today, 4 Apr. 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