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

Nicaragua, under the dictatorship of Daniel Ortega and his wife Rosario Murillo, is a clear example of the politically motivated use of migration by an autocratic regime. —Juan Sebastián Chamarro, National Review, 8 June 2025

And there’s motivated software firms ready to teach the deep technical skills required in marketing, sales and customer success. —Stephen Diorio, Forbes.com, 7 June 2025

The vicious crime wasn’t a brazen robbery or politically motivated attack. —Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 6 June 2025

The former chairman of the Los Angeles County Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission is under investigation for alleged retaliation against a Sheriff’s Department sergeant who faced scrutiny for his role in a unit accused of pursuing politically motivated cases. —Connor Sheets, Los Angeles Times, 6 June 2025

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