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

The country also faces religiously motivated attacks and other violent conflicts stemming from communal and ethnic tensions, as well as disputes between farmers and herders over limited access to land and water resources. —Nimi Princewill, CNN Money, 23 Nov. 2025

Highly motivated from what happened the previous season, Rivers scored 29 points on 7-of-16 shooting. —Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 23 Nov. 2025

Bolsonaro approached his indictment similarly to Trump, drawing parallels between the two and denouncing his prosecution as politically motivated. —Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 22 Nov. 2025

Through every moment, Rodney remained a light – positive, motivated and full of the quiet strength that inspired everyone around him. —Ryan Canfield, FOXNews.com, 22 Nov. 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