as in to encourage
to rouse to action or activity
The presence of treats motivated the dogs to obey their owner's commands. They drove a campaign to motivate voters to show up to the polls.
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Recent Examples of motivate
Institutions, motivated by the opportunity cost of their dormant bitcoin, are already starting to build out their crypto operations and learn to interact with the currency.
—
Luke Xie, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
In those incidents and numerous others, extreme political ideas appear to have motivated the attackers.
—Gregory P. Magarian, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
In the Tatsuya Nagamine movie, Z is the name of an admiral who has sworn to destroy all the pirates of the New World, because of the pirates’ dream to have no leader, motivated only by their alliances that uphold the interests of every person and community.
—Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2025
Dowdle didn’t need to hear from former teammates to be motivated this week.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivate
Luke Xie, MSNBC Newsweek, 10 Oct. 2025
In those incidents and numerous others, extreme political ideas appear to have motivated the attackers.
—Gregory P. Magarian, The Conversation, 10 Oct. 2025
In the Tatsuya Nagamine movie, Z is the name of an admiral who has sworn to destroy all the pirates of the New World, because of the pirates’ dream to have no leader, motivated only by their alliances that uphold the interests of every person and community.
—Literary Hub, 9 Oct. 2025
Dowdle didn’t need to hear from former teammates to be motivated this week.
—Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 9 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivate
Verb
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Even then, Sitake and his former teammates were encouraged to speak freely in meetings, to suggest alternative schemes and to acknowledge ways to be different.—
Christopher Kamrani,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
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The shipping industry would have paid the tax into a fund created by the IMO, to encourage emissions reductions and raise funds for climate action.—
Laura Paddison,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Vulnerable, the hefty game bonus would persuade me to issue an invitation.—
Deb Harvell,
Arkansas Online,
12 Oct. 2025
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Witkoff, who has labored on Middle East diplomacy since January alongside Secretary of State Marco Rubio, persuaded Kushner to lend a hand.—
Eric Cortellessa,
Time,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The anger mirrors recent protests against ruling elites in countries including Nepal, where the prime minister was forced to resign last month, and Morocco.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
13 Oct. 2025
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In the end, real victims are forced to wait longer for relief, while public trust in judicial fairness continues to erode.—
Josh Hammer,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
Verb
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His success in Triple-A this year could entice a team to take a chance on him.—
Aaliyan Mohammed,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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And, that, my friends, will be the cause of much celebration if he could ever be enticed to perform at, say, the National Theatre, the Royal Court or the Almeida or the Donmar or in the commercial West End.—
Baz Bamigboye,
Deadline,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The evening's menu will be inspired by the time period and be accompanied by cocktails of the era.—
Carin Schoppmeyer,
Arkansas Online,
12 Oct. 2025
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The United Nations welcomed two new officials to the advisory committee for its Human Rights Council this week in a vote that did not inspire confidence in the humanitarian body.—
Timothy Nerozzi,
The Washington Examiner,
11 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Certain probiotics also stimulate intestinal muscles to contract more effectively, which can move stool in your colon.—
Julie Marks,
Verywell Health,
10 Oct. 2025
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Programs where major companies stimulate the market for clean technologies have an important role to play and will need to continue and expand.—
Justin Worland,
Time,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The effect of microbetting, if not its intent, is to induce a fugue state that keeps users in action.—
Paul Solotaroff,
Rolling Stone,
12 Oct. 2025
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BluSail Golitz Studios in Morehead City is a creativity-inducing place to play with clay.—
Jennifer Prince,
Southern Living,
12 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivate. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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