ulterior motive

noun

: a secret reason
I think she has an ulterior motive for helping us.

Examples of ulterior motive in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Greg, on the other hand, has an ulterior motive. Erin Qualey, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2026 These individuals are often lured to conferences with generous payments, but with an ulterior motive: to extract their knowledge and encourage them to share sensitive or privileged information. Kim Hjelmgaard, USA Today, 26 Feb. 2026 There was no ulterior motive other than to motivate people to do something good. Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 13 Feb. 2026 Critics have alleged the multi-million dollar film might have been made with an ulterior motive. Cnn.com Wire Service, Mercury News, 31 Jan. 2026 People are still willing to help each other, with no ulterior motive. Arkansas Online, 28 Jan. 2026 The accusers had no other ulterior motive to come forward, Oliver argued. City News Service, Oc Register, 16 Dec. 2025 Unbeknownst to Eleven, Vecna has an ulterior motive. Christopher Rudolph, PEOPLE, 25 Nov. 2025 This weekend, Ryan Coogler’s genre-stretching box office smash Sinners, starring not but two Michael B. Jordans, returns to cinemas for a limited engagement, ostensibly for the creepy holiday season — but could Warner Bros. have an ulterior motive for the re-release? Damon Wise, Deadline, 30 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ulterior motive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ulterior%20motive. Accessed 27 Apr. 2026.

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