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
Does knowing her motivations make what’s to come easier?
—
Sara Netzley, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Shapiro told reporters at a news conference on April 16 that regardless of the motivation for the crime, political violence must be condemned as unacceptable in our society.
—Riley Beggin, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
But Remmick’s motivations — explained in a stray line of dialogue — are too thinly drawn and haphazardly framed.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
Now, both sides of the trade have sincere motivation here.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Sara Netzley, EW.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Shapiro told reporters at a news conference on April 16 that regardless of the motivation for the crime, political violence must be condemned as unacceptable in our society.
—Riley Beggin, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
But Remmick’s motivations — explained in a stray line of dialogue — are too thinly drawn and haphazardly framed.
—Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
Now, both sides of the trade have sincere motivation here.
—Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for motivation
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivation
Noun
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The Trump administration is also working to undo incentives around clean energy, particularly the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.—
Umair Irfan,
Wired News,
26 Apr. 2025
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In other words, the additional $10.8 million was a margin of error for Centene’s calculations — and an incentive for Florida not to do its own analysis to see if the company was accurate.—
Lawrence Mower,
Miami Herald,
25 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Yet it must be acknowledged that the impetus for the freezing of federal dollars for certain universities was a crisis for Jewish students, caused by the failure of college administrators to counter antisemitism and the harassment of Jews on campus.—
Christian Schneider,
National Review,
17 Apr. 2025
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Likewise, the impetus may be the same for McDonald’s customers.—
BYAlex Ledsom,
Fortune,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Katherine, an avid reader who loves James Joyce and modern poetry, tries her hand at screenwriting, with Fred’s encouragement.—
Mark Athitakis,
Los Angeles Times,
17 Apr. 2025
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Not only this, his friends also came to his defense, offering words of encouragement.—
Matt Robison,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 Apr. 2025
Noun
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Conscious perception is the ability of human beings to become aware of the stimuli received by their senses.—
Jorge Garay,
Wired News,
19 Apr. 2025
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This micro-moment creates space between stimulus and response, where emotional intelligence flourishes.—
Expert Panel®,
Forbes.com,
17 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Motivation.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivation. Accessed 30 Apr. 2025.
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