as in incentive
something that arouses action or activity
fear of failing should be plenty of motivation to study for the test
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of motivation
Jaylen Brown entered Friday night’s matchup at Madison Square Garden with a bit of extra motivation.
—
Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
Huet succeeds in humanizing Daedone, who had an abusive father and a punishing childhood, and whose motivations come to seem understandable, if maniacal.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Instead, its focus is on the government's motivation for the charges.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Movie scenes where bad guys explain their motivation have been a cliché going back to early James Bond movies and before, but Prinze’s heartfelt delivery breathes new life into the convention.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Zack Cox, Boston Herald, 25 Oct. 2025
Huet succeeds in humanizing Daedone, who had an abusive father and a punishing childhood, and whose motivations come to seem understandable, if maniacal.
—Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025
Instead, its focus is on the government's motivation for the charges.
—Taylor Seely, AZCentral.com, 24 Oct. 2025
Movie scenes where bad guys explain their motivation have been a cliché going back to early James Bond movies and before, but Prinze’s heartfelt delivery breathes new life into the convention.
—Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 24 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivation
Noun
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But Mehta said showing consumers a higher quantity of ads and incentives doesn’t mean as much as connecting with the consumer in a meaningful way.—
Meghan Hall,
Sourcing Journal,
21 Oct. 2025
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The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County combined are offering the company about $80,000 in tax incentives.—
Brian Gordon,
Charlotte Observer,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Stamford and Columbia University have committed to research using The Pippins as the impetus, according to Chris Norton.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
24 Oct. 2025
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Part of the impetus for all these openings is the same reason Las Vegas is so primed for these restaurants in the first place.—
Tori Latham,
Robb Report,
19 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Many social media users responded with their personal experiences and words of encouragement for Leila.—
Alyce Collins,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
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There were other signs of encouragement, like Diouf and Crysencio Summerville’s left-wing partnership, plus Freddie Potts’ solid cameo appearance.—
Roshane Thomas,
New York Times,
25 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Our amygdala is overactive, our nervous systems are fried and our dopamine cycles are hijacked by short-term stimuli.—
Chris Schembra,
Rolling Stone,
22 Oct. 2025
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These hybrid materials can reversibly change shape when exposed to different stimuli, thanks to the predictable nature of DNA pairing and the stability provided by inorganic components such as gold or graphene oxide.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motivation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivation. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.
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