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

This man’s very motivated, and there’s obviously an opportunity here. —Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 1 May 2025

Against steep odds, Lionel Messi and his Inter Miami teammates showed up at Chase Stadium Wednesday night highly motivated to overcome a two-goal deficit against the Vancouver Whitecaps in the second and decisive leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup semifinal. —Michelle Kaufman, Miami Herald, 1 May 2025

Eventually, a Supreme Court investigative team declared that there was not enough evidence to charge Modi in the riots—a finding that human-rights groups dismissed as politically motivated. —Andrew Marantz, New Yorker, 28 Apr. 2025

Ministers accuse him of politically motivated investigations designed to discredit the government. —Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 28 Apr. 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