motivator

noun

mo·​ti·​va·​tor ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-tər 

plural motivators

: one that motivates or impels someone or something

a subconscious motivator of behavior

: such as

a

: a factor or situation that causes people to feel motivated to do something : incentive

Only a fool, though, would deny that money is a very real and basic need and, of course, a motivator of sorts.

—Robert W. Corl

Exercising with someone else … can be a motivator.

—Joanne Lannin

Andre Harris, without basketball as a motivator, had slipped back into bad habits academically.

—John Feinstein

b

: a person who motivates others

… won a reputation as a leader and a motivator …

—Leonard Silk

But Romo's not an enabler; he's a motivator, says [Jessica] Simpson. "If I'm not feeling good about myself, he'll say, 'Get your butt up and go to the gym then!'"

—Michelle Tan

Examples of motivator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The two said the dwindling number of arts spaces was one motivator to get a physical location in 2021 and form 18th Street Casa de Cultura. —Madeline King, Chicago Tribune, 11 Mar. 2026

Scarcity is humanity’s great motivator. —Ellen Cushing, The Atlantic, 10 Mar. 2026

Community proved to be another powerful motivator. —Michelle Edgar, Daily News, 8 Mar. 2026

Respondents cited concerns over macroeconomic and legal and regulatory risks as key motivators. —CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1918, in the meaning defined above