MOTIVATES Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

motivates

verb

present tense third-person singular of motivate

as in encourages

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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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of motivates For all his success, Sienkiewicz has never lost the sense of wonder at being able to do work that motivates himself personally. — Rob Salkowitz, Forbes.com, 26 July 2026 What needs to be consolidated to create a space that motivates you? — Usa Today, USA Today, 19 July 2026 That the notion of being a more perfect union, not the perfect union, is really what motivates me. — NBC news, 5 July 2026 In a broader reflection on his career evolution, Johnson explained what motivates him now. — Wesley Stenzel, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026 Kim said his father Albert also motivates him on the course and academically as a straight-A student. — Dan Albano, Oc Register, 12 June 2026 This is the critical question that motivates hours of Pinterest perusing. — Kaitlyn Yarborough, Southern Living, 10 June 2026 Understanding the financial spiral that state receivership brings in the event of insolvency motivates me. — Mercury News & East Bay Times Editorial Boards, Mercury News, 26 May 2026 Studies have shown that people with HSAs tend to spend less on healthcare, and such control motivates consumers to demand price transparency and shop for the best value. — Deborah Autor, Boston Herald, 25 May 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivates

Verb

More of them are asking for telehealth visits, an option the clinic offers and encourages to abate patients’ fears that visiting the doctor could lead to a run-in with ICE, according to Motorwala.

— Michelle Marchante July 29, Miami Herald, 29 July 2026
The company’s campaign directs people experiencing involuntary movements to their dedicated website and encourages them to consult healthcare providers.

— Joshua Hong, Fortune, 29 July 2026

Definition of encourages

Verb

Guadalupe River State Park entices visitors with its cool waters for tubing, paddling, and swimming and family-friendly campgrounds.

— Cameron Beall, Southern Living, 16 July 2026
The play, which won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize this year, entices on the page despite seeming overstuffed and curiously decentralized.

— Theater Critic, Los Angeles Times, 8 July 2026

Definition of entices

Verb

Sending $200 to Sub-Saharan Africa still costs about 8% on average, and correspondent banking still forces companies to park idle cash around the world.

— Alex Odagiu, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Road safety experts are increasingly concerned about tech that forces drivers to look away from the road to tap physical screens.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 July 2026

Definition of forces

Verb

The open question is whether Wednesday’s beat and share price jump is just a blip, or the catalyst that persuades investors to give the stock a more durable re-rating.

— Jeremy Kahn, Fortune, 23 July 2026
Carol persuades Clark to take out a life-insurance policy on her husband—an unusual request outside of a film noir, though not such a departure from the annals of heterosexuality, in which women have depended on men for security for millennia.

— Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 22 July 2026

Definition of persuades

Verb

One of the places that inspires her most is her family’s home in Sagaponack, designed by Elsa Soyars.

— Amanda Lauren, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Jimothy inspires artists around the country Jimothy has been an inspiration to many, evidenced by all the artists who have paid homage to him in their medium of choice.

— Drew Pittock, USA Today, 25 July 2026

Definition of inspires

Verb

The percussive vibration unclogs impurities and excess sebum while the accompanying massage motion stimulates blood microcirculation and supports lymphatic drainage—exactly the mechanisms Cirino prioritizes in his professional treatments.

— Tanya Akim, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026
This could be because glycolic acid stimulates collagen production and cell turnover and proliferation (the production of new skin cells).

— Laura Dorwart, Health, 22 July 2026

Definition of stimulates

Verb

The second provokes disappointment, but both provide closure.

— Alejandro Cárdenas Villa, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
In my own research, threatening a man’s sense of manhood – but not a woman’s womanhood – reliably provokes aggression, and the men who react most strongly are those who feel the most pressure to live up to masculine ideals.

— Adam Stanaland, The Conversation, 20 July 2026

Definition of provokes

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“Motivates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivates. Accessed 3 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of motivates

verb

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