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

And the people who are angry right now and are motivated are the Democratic voters and the left-leaning independents, who are saying the president's not delivering. —ABC News, 7 Dec. 2025

But once your debt has reached 180 days past due and is nearing charge-off, the creditor may be more motivated to compromise. —Angelica Leicht, CBS News, 5 Dec. 2025

Trump maintained he was convicted in a politically motivated trial in New York City. —David Lightman, Sacbee.com, 4 Dec. 2025

We’ll be especially motivated to express ourselves, possibly via writing, speaking or social media. —Victoria Edel, PEOPLE, 3 Dec. 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