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 Hello Alice case may show that companies can successfully protect themselves against politically motivated anti-DEI lawsuits the same way. —Lila MacLellan, Fortune, 5 Aug. 2025

The Kremlin also claimed the verdict was politically motivated, and that Moldova was systematically suppressing the opposition. —Christian Edwards, CNN Money, 5 Aug. 2025

That will force the billionaire to stay out of the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which has been wielding its antitrust authority in unpredictable and politically motivated ways. —Rohan Goswami, semafor.com, 4 Aug. 2025

Police said the assault was not politically motivated. —Kate Plummer, MSNBC Newsweek, 31 July 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