| / English Dictionary |
MOTIVE
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
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
Example:
he acted with the best of motives
Synonyms:
motivation; motive; need
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("motive" is a kind of...):
psychological feature (a feature of the mental life of a living organism)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "motive"):
life (a motive for living)
rational motive (a motive that can be defended by reasoning or logical argument)
irrational motive (a motivation that is inconsistent with reason or logic)
impulse; urge (an instinctive motive)
ethical motive; ethics; morality; morals (motivation based on ideas of right and wrong)
mental energy; psychic energy (an actuating force or factor)
Derivation:
motivate (give an incentive for action)
motive (impelling to action)
Sense 2
Meaning:
A design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
Synonyms:
motif; motive
Classified under:
Nouns denoting man-made objects
Hypernyms ("motive" is a kind of...):
design; figure; pattern (a decorative or artistic work)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
Synonyms:
motif; motive
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("motive" is a kind of...):
idea; melodic theme; musical theme; theme ((music) melodic subject of a musical composition)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "motive"):
obbligato; obligato (a persistent but subordinate motif)
II. (adjective)
Sense 1
Meaning:
Impelling to action
Example:
motivating arguments
Synonyms:
motivating; motivative; motive
Classified under:
Similar:
causative (producing an effect)
Derivation:
motive (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)
Sense 2
Meaning:
Causing or able to cause motion
Example:
motor energy
Synonyms:
motive; motor
Classified under:
Similar:
causative (producing an effect)
Derivation:
motivity (the power or ability to move)
Context examples:
He gave no reason, but his motive was obvious enough.
(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)
I have a motive of which, be sure, she would have approved.
(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)
But how could you guess what the motive was?
(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
I have no motive for wishing him ill—and for her sake, whose happiness will be involved in his good character and conduct, I shall certainly wish him well.
(Emma, by Jane Austen)
You need a motive, Mother says, and when you get it, she is sure you'll work splendidly.
(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)
Edward was, of course, immediately convinced that nothing could have been more natural than Lucy's conduct, nor more self-evident than the motive of it.
(Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen)
Jealousy, of course, at once suggests itself as the motive for the crime.
(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)
His sole motive was to make her happy, to make her proud of him, to justify her long faith in him.
(Martin Eden, by Jack London)
He asked me, “what were the usual causes or motives that made one country go to war with another?”
(Gulliver's Travels into several remote nations of the world, by Jonathan Swift)
There was no telling when the god's ulterior motive might be disclosed.
(White Fang, by Jack London)
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