as in inspirational
serving or likely to arouse action or activity
A poster with a motivational message was hung above the water cooler. The conference will feature talks by some well-known motivational speakers.
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Recent Examples of motivational
When to go foam-at-the-mouth intense and when to tug on heartstrings with one of her motivational speeches.
—
Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
The pair first met during a brief encounter at an awards show in 2012, but didn’t become acquainted until 2019 after the were both booked as speakers at an event in Florida organized by motivational speaker Tony Robbins.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
The writer and motivational speaker, 37, has a long-time relationship with journaling and has praised the practice for carrying her through life.
—Yamillah Hurtado, People.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The Agency Gap In Schools Agency is not simply a motivational slogan.
—Dan Fitzpatrick, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
That’s turned out to not only be a kind leadership style, but a motivational one for a business with global ambitions.
—Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2025
The major winner gave a motivational speech to the team Saturday night, which captain Nathan Smith credited for energizing the squad.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Lazarus is comfortable knowing that his sardonic smack-talking can only give Belichick, and the team, more motivational fodder for next season.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Because, let’s face it, this was in Coach Fambrough’s prime and his speech was the most motivational thing that most of us (players) had ever heard.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
Marcus Thompson Ii, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2025
The pair first met during a brief encounter at an awards show in 2012, but didn’t become acquainted until 2019 after the were both booked as speakers at an event in Florida organized by motivational speaker Tony Robbins.
—Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 11 Sep. 2025
The writer and motivational speaker, 37, has a long-time relationship with journaling and has praised the practice for carrying her through life.
—Yamillah Hurtado, People.com, 10 Sep. 2025
The Agency Gap In Schools Agency is not simply a motivational slogan.
—Dan Fitzpatrick, Forbes.com, 9 Sep. 2025
That’s turned out to not only be a kind leadership style, but a motivational one for a business with global ambitions.
—Wwd Staff, Footwear News, 8 Sep. 2025
The major winner gave a motivational speech to the team Saturday night, which captain Nathan Smith credited for energizing the squad.
—Devlina Sarkar, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Lazarus is comfortable knowing that his sardonic smack-talking can only give Belichick, and the team, more motivational fodder for next season.
—Sean Gregory, Time, 3 Sep. 2025
Because, let’s face it, this was in Coach Fambrough’s prime and his speech was the most motivational thing that most of us (players) had ever heard.
—Gary Bedore, Kansas City Star, 3 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivational
Adjective
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Almost two weeks after his at-home piano concert, which also featured Stanford University professors giving brief inspirational speeches between songs, Radhakrishna was almost halfway to his $100,000 fundraising goal.—
Nollyanne Delacruz,
Mercury News,
10 Sep. 2025
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Chatting with Declan Bitmead, 17, winner of an inspirational young person award, Harry learned the teen had a younger brother.—
Janelle Ash , Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa,
FOXNews.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Adjective
-
Pink Light takes the inspiring sports drama genre, where athletes have to overcome obstacles in their sport and personal lives, in a new direction as Browne tackles the worsening debate around trans athletes in the media and political spaces.—
Etan Vlessing,
HollywoodReporter,
12 Sep. 2025
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Cola's inspiring story touched thousands of hearts and, ultimately, led to her adoption.—
Jack Beresford,
MSNBC Newsweek,
12 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motivational.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivational. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
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