the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"
Used in a Sentence
motive
How to use motive in a sentence. Example sentences and definitions for motive.
Editorial note
What motive would the author have to fake the review?
Examples12
Definitions5
Parts of speech2
Quick take
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"
Meaning at a glance
The clearest senses and uses of motive gathered in one view.
a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
Definitions
Core meanings and parts of speech for motive.
noun
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"
See also: motivation, need
noun
a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
See also: motif
noun
a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
See also: motif
adjective
causing or able to cause motion; "a motive force"; "motive power"; "motor energy"
See also: motor
adjective
impelling to action; "it may well be that ethical language has primarily a motivative function"- Arthur Pap; "motive pleas"; "motivating arguments"
See also: motivating
Example sentences
What motive would the author have to fake the review?
It just isn't the case - our engineers are great and our motives are pure.
I can only guess their motive was to look good in benchmarks that everyone like to run and post results on the web.
Taking out a key competitor seems like the obvious motive.
Why didn't they didn't just include a female usb port?Edit: I'm skeptical about their motive.
The money actually added to the problem, because it meant even when he wasn't paying, people had a motive to hang around.
I think there's a lot to be said for contributing back to the community for the greater good, without a profit motive.
I don't know what his motive is, suffice to say that it could be either, and assuming the worst is not necessarily valid.
But the cynicism that says there is some ulterior motive cuts deep, especially coming from someone I respect like you, Matt.
", you might ask. Turns out he even had an ulterior motive to be mad at the Army, he had recently been demoted from Specialist for physically assaulting a fellow soldier.
Of course, it is possible that a lawyer may be willing to take on the case, at substantial cost, just to get publicity or for some other non-monetary motive.
" [2]I think that this is a perfectly plausible explanation and don't think that the real ulterior motive is controlling resale, especially when other foreign competitors do not have the same restrictions.
Frequently asked questions
Short answers drawn from the clearest meanings and examples for this word.
How do you use motive in a sentence?
What motive would the author have to fake the review?
What does motive mean?
the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives"
What part of speech is motive?
motive is commonly used as noun, adjective.