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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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of motivation
The second factor driving the migration of the wealthy is motivation.
—
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026
Adapting and expanding upon a lean Don Winslow novella, Layton adds many sometimes unnecessarily complex ingredients to the pot, with characters intersecting and allegiances and motivations often contradicting one another.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
For the majority, money is the primary motivation.
—Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
Ryan didn’t spend much time this winter reflecting on a trying final two months of the 2025 season, a span that occasionally left him struggling to find motivation after seeing 10 teammates traded.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Lee Ying Shan, CNBC, 11 Feb. 2026
Adapting and expanding upon a lean Don Winslow novella, Layton adds many sometimes unnecessarily complex ingredients to the pot, with characters intersecting and allegiances and motivations often contradicting one another.
—Ryan Lattanzio, IndieWire, 11 Feb. 2026
For the majority, money is the primary motivation.
—Daria Tarasova-Markina, CNN Money, 11 Feb. 2026
Ryan didn’t spend much time this winter reflecting on a trying final two months of the 2025 season, a span that occasionally left him struggling to find motivation after seeing 10 teammates traded.
—Dan Hayes, New York Times, 11 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivation
Noun
-
Just more incentive to get down the hill as quickly as possible.—
Los Angeles Times,
Los Angeles Times,
15 Feb. 2026
-
To be eligible for the Spirit Awards, a movie's budget cannot exceed $30 million after tax incentives.—
Jillian Sederholm,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Poor weather was the impetus for the decision.—
Kevin Collier,
NBC news,
4 Feb. 2026
-
What was the impetus for your first chess game?—
Roxana Hadadi,
Vulture,
4 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Jordan wrapped his arms around Wallace from behind and spoke closely into Wallace's ear in a brief speech of encouragement.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
16 Feb. 2026
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Looking for inspirational lessons from elsewhere in the surrounding region doesn’t yield much encouragement.—
Alaa Shahine Salha,
semafor.com,
16 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Her wildly optimistic logic is that fiscal stimulus will spark growth, and that the private sector will raise long-stagnant wages, thereby increasing tax revenues.—
Jeff Kingston,
Time,
15 Feb. 2026
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Smart polymers already exist and can respond to such stimuli, altering their color or shape and then returning to their original state.—
Rupendra Brahambhatt,
Interesting Engineering,
14 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Motivation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivation. Accessed 17 Feb. 2026.
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