motivator

noun

mo·​ti·​va·​tor ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-tər 

plural motivators

: one that motivates or impels someone or something

a subconscious motivator of behavior

: such as

a

: a factor or situation that causes people to feel motivated to do something : incentive

Only a fool, though, would deny that money is a very real and basic need and, of course, a motivator of sorts.

—Robert W. Corl

Exercising with someone else … can be a motivator.

—Joanne Lannin

Andre Harris, without basketball as a motivator, had slipped back into bad habits academically.

—John Feinstein

b

: a person who motivates others

But Romo's not an enabler; he's a motivator, says [Jessica] Simpson. "If I'm not feeling good about myself, he'll say, 'Get your butt up and go to the gym then!'"

—Michelle Tan

Examples of motivator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

According to Skift Research's luxury traveler report, affluent travelers are increasingly trading traditional luxury for cultural experiences, with 52 percent citing authentic cultural immersion as their key travel motivator. —Ryan Craggs, Travel + Leisure, 29 Apr. 2025

But beyond that, money can sometimes stop being a motivator and can even backfire. —Victoria Vitchenco, Forbes.com, 17 Apr. 2025

Understandably, the ability to represent his nation in a World Cup where his family currently lives is an undeniably motivator. —Jeff Rueter, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2025

And geography has always been the great, irrepressible motivator of our actions. —Ray Mark Rinaldi, Denver Post, 14 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above