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

The parental parallels between Quinn reconciling with her mother’s ulterior motive and Staten hashing out the Double K Ranch chairman debacle with his father provided another test for the couple to work through before being together. — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 23 July 2026

Anthony Edwards said there was no ulterior motive behind his decision to dap up San Antonio Spurs players and coaches with eight minutes remaining in the Minnesota Timberwolves’ series-clinching Game 6 loss in the Western Conference semifinals. — Zach Powell, New York Times, 23 May 2026

Greg, on the other hand, has an ulterior motive. — Erin Qualey, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2026

There was no ulterior motive other than to motivate people to do something good. — Lilah Ramzi, Vogue, 13 Feb. 2026

Rhymes for ulterior motive

• electromotive
• automotive
• locomotive
• emotive
• promotive
• votive