as in encouragements
something that arouses action or activity
the handsome reward for the missing dog was an incentive for me to start looking
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Recent Examples of incentives
The Russian state has introduced incentives for women who have three or more children, including lump-sum payments, tax breaks and state benefits.
—
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026
At the very least, this populist President would have demanded compensation for displaced workers in the form of proper retraining programs, relocation grants, and expanded incentives for businesses to invest in depressed regions.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
Reinaker asked leaders to brief the public on the incentives, present an analysis of the costs and expected returns and deliberate the approval thoroughly.
—Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 23 Feb. 2026
Understand their incentives, which may not always align with your incentives.
—Matthew Henick, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026
Bonner Springs granted the project a total $221 million in tax incentives to help pay for the project’s construction.
—Sofi Zeman, Kansas City Star, 22 Feb. 2026
Instead, Russia has relied heavily on financial incentives, aggressive advertising, prison recruitment and coercive mobilization.
—Elizaveta Gaufman, The Conversation, 21 Feb. 2026
The city council is expected to weigh incentives to encourage the construction of single-family homes sold at or below $375,000.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
Still, training efforts don’t fall entirely on management and incentives, according to IBM’s Neil Dhar, senior vice president of consulting in the Americas.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Holly Ellyatt, CNBC, 24 Feb. 2026
At the very least, this populist President would have demanded compensation for displaced workers in the form of proper retraining programs, relocation grants, and expanded incentives for businesses to invest in depressed regions.
—John Cassidy, New Yorker, 23 Feb. 2026
Reinaker asked leaders to brief the public on the incentives, present an analysis of the costs and expected returns and deliberate the approval thoroughly.
—Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News, 23 Feb. 2026
Understand their incentives, which may not always align with your incentives.
—Matthew Henick, Variety, 23 Feb. 2026
Bonner Springs granted the project a total $221 million in tax incentives to help pay for the project’s construction.
—Sofi Zeman, Kansas City Star, 22 Feb. 2026
Instead, Russia has relied heavily on financial incentives, aggressive advertising, prison recruitment and coercive mobilization.
—Elizaveta Gaufman, The Conversation, 21 Feb. 2026
The city council is expected to weigh incentives to encourage the construction of single-family homes sold at or below $375,000.
—Ryan Gillespie, The Orlando Sentinel, 21 Feb. 2026
Still, training efforts don’t fall entirely on management and incentives, according to IBM’s Neil Dhar, senior vice president of consulting in the Americas.
—Rachyl Jones, semafor.com, 20 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incentives
Noun
-
In October 2024 ahead of her own stay at MSG, Billie Eilish recorded encouragements to take the subways for environmental benefits.—
Hannah Dailey,
Billboard,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Hints, counsels, warnings, remonstrations, even encouragements are, in the end, of limited value.—
James Parker,
The Atlantic,
21 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
In a moment when success is measured in eyeballs reached, the motivations that first inspired the prominent role of debate in American society have been inverted.—
Talya Zax,
The Atlantic,
21 Feb. 2026
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Heldman and Nicholson’s lucid, intelligent script thus assigns characters very different, more nuanced motivations from those we are used to in iterations of this story.—
Guy Lodge,
Variety,
20 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
The reason could be that modern environments contain more interesting stimuli or that modern gasoline no longer contains lead.—
Drew Goins,
The Atlantic,
18 Feb. 2026
-
Smart polymers already exist and can respond to such stimuli, altering their color or shape and then returning to their original state.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Incentives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incentives. Accessed 26 Feb. 2026.
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