as in diligent
having a strong desire for personal advancement
He was lauded by faculty as an exceptionally hardworking, curious, and motivated student. The company was looking for motivated self-starters to fill the sales position.
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as in encouraged
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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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of motivated
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Miami is roughly a two-touchdown favorite but beware a tough test from a motivated L’Ville.
—Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for motivated
Adjective
Prosecutors said the six, all Bulgarian nationals, were financially motivated and did not report directly to Russian intelligence.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2025
Miami is roughly a two-touchdown favorite but beware a tough test from a motivated L’Ville.
—Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
Verb
Williams was not motivated by political reasons, but his actions diverted police resources and created a dangerous environment, prosecutors wrote in court documents.
—Real-Time News Team, Miami Herald, 13 Oct. 2025
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
See All Example Sentences for motivated
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivated
Adjective
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In normal times, the agency acts like a loving but diligent parent, dispensing money at regular intervals to insure the kids don’t spend it all at once.—
Andy Kroll,
New Yorker,
17 Oct. 2025
-
In recent years, officials have been far more diligent about timekeeping, leading to a rise in the volume of stoppage time played.—
Conor O'Neill,
New York Times,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Over the course of a conversation that spanned more than a million words and 300 hours, the bot encouraged Brooks to adopt grandiose beliefs, validated his delusions, and led him to believe the technological infrastructure that underpins the world was in imminent danger.—
Beatrice Nolan,
Fortune,
19 Oct. 2025
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These men, too, were encouraged to get married—and stay married.—
Julia Ioffe,
New Yorker,
19 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Barley the energetic pup has spent nearly 300 days waiting for a second chance in Florida.—
Simone Jasper,
Miami Herald,
20 Oct. 2025
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The energetic Fleck has taken Minnesota to a bowl game in every non-COVID season after his first year and posted a top-10 finish in 2019.—
Chris Vannini,
New York Times,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The Tunnels story is that Chinese immigrants built a network of tunnels under the city because they were forced to live underground; the tunnels were then used by gangsters and bootleggers, including Al Capone.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
20 Oct. 2025
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Delta said the disruption forced it to cancel more than 5,000 flights and cost it more than $500 million in revenue and compensation for passengers, among other expenses.—
Leslie Josephs,
CNBC,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The Broncos seemed determined to splatter Ragu on Mona Lisa.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
20 Oct. 2025
-
Bernadette Fox, a brilliant but agoraphobic architect, mysteriously disappears, sending her 15-year-old daughter, Bee, on a determined search.—
Kris Slugg,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
19 Oct. 2025
Verb
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As reported by the Columbus Dispatch, Judge Page was particularly persuaded by concerns about fairness and equity.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
21 Oct. 2025
-
De Marco, who has a gray goatee and an easy laugh, had persuaded Imperiale to become a pentito, or state’s witness, in exchange for a lighter sentence.—
Ed Caesar,
New Yorker,
20 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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For parents and leaders, the CLA is a framework that explains how dynamic systems (like people) work.—
Joe Boylan,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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But much of his story focuses on Spears and their tumultuous romance, from the whirlwind of attention to their inevitably contentious dynamic.—
Steven J. Horowitz,
Variety,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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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
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In the chain’s most recent earnings call last month, Kempczinski said customers more than doubled their visits after joining the program, enticed by discounts.—
Jordan Valinsky,
CNN Money,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motivated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivated. Accessed 22 Oct. 2025.
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