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
Rather than kicking off as a team, early episodes will tease out their backstories and individual motivations before uniting the Nein.
—
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
Use this list as motivation to declutter your basement once and for all.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Oct. 2025
Growing up in Georgetown, South Carolina and attending a smaller Division 1 program in college gave her a unique motivation to achieve more than most can imagine.
—Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025
But because so much less is known about what made Gein tick than the motivations of Dahmer and the Menendezes, Hunnam had room to maneuver and to invent.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Christopher Cruz, Rolling Stone, 1 Oct. 2025
Use this list as motivation to declutter your basement once and for all.
—Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 1 Oct. 2025
Growing up in Georgetown, South Carolina and attending a smaller Division 1 program in college gave her a unique motivation to achieve more than most can imagine.
—Amanda Davies, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2025
But because so much less is known about what made Gein tick than the motivations of Dahmer and the Menendezes, Hunnam had room to maneuver and to invent.
—Daniel D'addario, Variety, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivation
Noun
-
Washington can stomach Sarr’s undisciplined shot diet because the team, still early in its rebuild, has little incentive to win right now.—
Josh Robbins,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
Finance is full of bad incentives and outright exploitation.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
The impetus for Redeux Style was to teach people how to create beautiful moments in their lives to be more sustainable.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
26 Sep. 2025
-
There was enough of an impetus, there was enough energy there.—
Charlotte Observer,
Charlotte Observer,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The recent sighting provided encouragement to conservationists.—
Aspen Pflughoeft,
Miami Herald,
6 Oct. 2025
-
Redd offered encouragement and resources, including money for a hotel room.—
Essence,
Essence,
6 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
To him, animal behavior was largely based on stimulus and response.—
Danny Robb,
JSTOR Daily,
1 Oct. 2025
-
The receptors in your hands respond to myriad stimuli-like pressures—vibrations in sync with 15 different families of neurons.—
Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez,
Fortune,
29 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motivation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivation. Accessed 9 Oct. 2025.
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