Motive — meaning, pronunciation & more

Definition

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

a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music

Pronunciation

🇺🇸American English

/mˈoʊɾɪv/

🇬🇧British English

/mˈəʊtɪv/

🇮🇳Indian English

/mˈəʊtɪv/

2 syllables Say it as /mˈoʊɾɪv/.

Examples

we did not understand his motivation
he acted with the best of motives
a motive force

Synonyms & Antonyms

Synonyms

need motivation motor motif motivative motivating

Parts of Speech

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”
noun	a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
noun	a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
adjective	causing or able to cause motion “a motive force”
adjective	impelling to action; - Arthur Pap “it may well be that ethical language has primarily a motivative function”

Word Forms

motivational	adjective	of or relating to motivation
motivate	verb	give an incentive for action
motive	adjective	impelling to action; - Arthur Pap
motivity	noun	the power or ability to move
motor	noun	a nonspecific agent that imparts motion
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
motivating	noun	the act of motivating; providing incentive

Around the World

Europe

🇩🇪German

Motiv

das psychologische Merkmal, das einen Organismus dazu anregt, auf ein gewünschtes Ziel hinzuarbeiten; der Grund für die Aktion; das, was dem Verhalten Sinn und Richtung gibt

🇫🇷French

motif

la caractéristique psychologique qui incite un organisme à agir vers un objectif souhaité ; la raison de l'action ; ce qui donne un but et une direction au comportement

🇪🇸Spanish

motivo

la característica psicológica que impulsa a un organismo a actuar hacia una meta deseada; el motivo de la acción; aquello que da propósito y dirección a la conducta

🇮🇹Italian

motivo

la caratteristica psicologica che stimola un organismo all'azione verso un obiettivo desiderato; il motivo dell'azione; ciò che dà scopo e direzione al comportamento

🇳🇱Dutch

motief

het psychologische kenmerk dat een organisme ertoe aanzet actie te ondernemen in de richting van een gewenst doel; de reden van de actie; dat wat doel en richting geeft aan gedrag

🇵🇹Portuguese

motivo

a característica psicológica que estimula um organismo a agir em direção a um objetivo desejado; o motivo da ação; aquilo que dá propósito e direção ao comportamento

🇷🇺Russian

мотив

психологическая особенность, побуждающая организм действовать для достижения желаемой цели; причина действия; то, что придает цель и направление поведению

India

🇮🇳Hindi

मकसद

वह मनोवैज्ञानिक विशेषता जो किसी जीव को वांछित लक्ष्य की ओर कार्य करने के लिए प्रेरित करती है; कार्रवाई का कारण; जो व्यवहार को उद्देश्य और दिशा देता है

🇧🇩Bengali

উদ্দেশ্য

মনস্তাত্ত্বিক বৈশিষ্ট্য যা একটি জীবকে একটি কাঙ্ক্ষিত লক্ষ্যের দিকে কাজ করার জন্য জাগিয়ে তোলে; কর্মের কারণ; যা আচরণের উদ্দেশ্য এবং দিকনির্দেশনা দেয়

🇮🇳Tamil

நோக்கம்

விரும்பிய இலக்கை நோக்கி செயல்பட ஒரு உயிரினத்தைத் தூண்டும் உளவியல் அம்சம்; செயலுக்கான காரணம்; நடத்தைக்கான நோக்கத்தையும் திசையையும் கொடுக்கிறது

🇮🇳Telugu

ప్రేరణ

కోరుకున్న లక్ష్యం వైపు చర్య తీసుకునేలా జీవిని ప్రేరేపించే మానసిక లక్షణం; చర్యకు కారణం; ప్రవర్తనకు ఉద్దేశ్యం మరియు దిశను ఇస్తుంది

🇮🇳Marathi

हेतू

मनोवैज्ञानिक वैशिष्ट्य जे एखाद्या जीवाला इच्छित ध्येयाकडे कृती करण्यास उद्युक्त करते; कारवाईचे कारण; जे वर्तनाला उद्देश आणि दिशा देते

🇮🇳Gujarati

હેતુ

મનોવૈજ્ઞાનિક લક્ષણ કે જે સજીવને ઇચ્છિત ધ્યેય તરફ કાર્ય કરવા માટે ઉત્તેજિત કરે છે; ક્રિયા માટેનું કારણ; જે વર્તનને હેતુ અને દિશા આપે છે

🇮🇳Kannada

ಪ್ರೇರಣೆ

ಅಪೇಕ್ಷಿತ ಗುರಿಯತ್ತ ಕ್ರಿಯೆಗೆ ಜೀವಿಯೊಂದನ್ನು ಪ್ರಚೋದಿಸುವ ಮಾನಸಿಕ ಲಕ್ಷಣ; ಕ್ರಿಯೆಯ ಕಾರಣ; ನಡವಳಿಕೆಗೆ ಉದ್ದೇಶ ಮತ್ತು ನಿರ್ದೇಶನವನ್ನು ನೀಡುತ್ತದೆ

🇮🇳Malayalam

പ്രേരണ

ആവശ്യമുള്ള ലക്ഷ്യത്തിലേക്കുള്ള പ്രവർത്തനത്തിലേക്ക് ഒരു ജീവിയെ ഉണർത്തുന്ന മാനസിക സവിശേഷത; നടപടിയുടെ കാരണം; പെരുമാറ്റത്തിന് ലക്ഷ്യവും ദിശയും നൽകുന്ന ഒന്ന്

🇮🇳Punjabi

ਮਨੋਰਥ

ਮਨੋਵਿਗਿਆਨਕ ਵਿਸ਼ੇਸ਼ਤਾ ਜੋ ਕਿਸੇ ਜੀਵ ਨੂੰ ਲੋੜੀਂਦੇ ਟੀਚੇ ਵੱਲ ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ ਉਕਸਾਉਂਦੀ ਹੈ; ਕਾਰਵਾਈ ਦਾ ਕਾਰਨ; ਜੋ ਵਿਹਾਰ ਨੂੰ ਉਦੇਸ਼ ਅਤੇ ਦਿਸ਼ਾ ਪ੍ਰਦਾਨ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ

🇵🇰Urdu

محرک

وہ نفسیاتی خصوصیت جو کسی جاندار کو مطلوبہ مقصد کی طرف کام کرنے کے لیے بیدار کرتی ہے۔ کارروائی کی وجہ؛ جو طرز عمل کو مقصد اور سمت دیتا ہے۔

East & Southeast Asia

🇨🇳Chinese

动机

激发有机体朝着预期目标采取行动的心理特征；采取行动的原因；赋予行为目的和方向的东西

🇯🇵Japanese

動機

望ましい目標に向けて生物を行動に駆り立てる心理的特徴。行動の理由。行動に目的と方向性を与えるもの

🇰🇷Korean

동기

유기체가 원하는 목표를 향해 행동하도록 자극하는 심리적 특징; 행동 이유; 행동의 목적과 방향을 제시하는 것

🇻🇳Vietnamese

động cơ

đặc điểm tâm lý khơi dậy sinh vật hành động hướng tới mục tiêu mong muốn; lý do của hành động; cái mang lại mục đích và phương hướng cho hành vi

🇹🇭Thai

แรงจูงใจ

ลักษณะทางจิตวิทยาที่กระตุ้นให้ร่างกายดำเนินการไปสู่เป้าหมายที่ต้องการ เหตุผลในการดำเนินการ ที่ให้จุดมุ่งหมายและทิศทางแก่พฤติกรรม

🇮🇩Indonesian

motif

ciri psikologis yang membangkitkan suatu organisme untuk bertindak menuju tujuan yang diinginkan; alasan tindakan tersebut; yang memberi tujuan dan arah pada perilaku

🇵🇭Filipino

motibo

ang sikolohikal na katangian na pumupukaw sa isang organismo upang kumilos patungo sa isang ninanais na layunin; ang dahilan ng pagkilos; na nagbibigay ng layunin at direksyon sa pag-uugali

🇲🇾Malay

motif

ciri psikologi yang membangkitkan organisma untuk bertindak ke arah matlamat yang diingini; sebab tindakan itu; yang memberi tujuan dan arah kepada tingkah laku

Middle East

🇸🇦Arabic

الدافع

السمة النفسية التي تثير الكائن الحي للتحرك نحو الهدف المنشود؛ سبب الإجراء؛ ما يعطي الهدف والتوجيه للسلوك

🇮🇷Persian

انگیزه

ویژگی روانشناختی که ارگانیسم را برای اقدام به سمت هدف مورد نظر تحریک می کند. دلیل عمل؛ چیزی که به رفتار هدف و جهت می دهد

🇹🇷Turkish

sebep

Bir organizmayı arzu edilen bir hedefe doğru harekete geçmeye teşvik eden psikolojik özellik; eylemin nedeni; davranışa amaç ve yön veren şey

🇮🇱Hebrew

מֵנִיעַ

התכונה הפסיכולוגית המעוררת אורגניזם לפעולה לקראת מטרה רצויה; סיבת הפעולה; זה שנותן מטרה וכיוון להתנהגות

Test Yourself1 / 3

What is the primary definition of the word 'motive'?

The primary meaning of 'motive' is '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'.

Which of the following sentences uses the word 'motive' in a grammatically correct way?

Using 'motive' in a noun/adjective form makes the first sentence correct.

In which domain is the word 'motive' most likely to appear as standard vocabulary?

'motive' is a standard word used primarily in general literature and formal communications.

Community Poll1 / 6

How often do you encounter the word 'motive' in your daily reading?

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Do you find 'motive' easy to spell?

Yes, very easy

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A bit confusing

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In your opinion, does the word 'motive' have a positive, neutral, or gloomy tone?

Positive

Neutral

Gloomy

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Which age group is most likely to use 'motive' in regular conversations?

Kids (3-12)

Teens (13-19)

Adults (20-60)

Seniors (60+)

How likely are you to use 'motive' in a professional email?

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Would you classify 'motive' as formal, casual, or slang?

Formal

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Slang

Archaic

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