Motive meaning

What does “motive” mean? Definitions, examples, synonyms and opposites.

“motive” is a noun and adjective with 5 meanings. Its most common meaning 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.

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”
Synonymsmotivation need
a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
Synonymsmotif
a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
Synonymsmotif

adjective

causing or able to cause motion
“a motive force”
“motive power”
Synonymsmotor
impelling to action
“it may well be that ethical language has primarily a motivative function”
“motive pleas”
Synonymsmotivative motivating

Source: WordNet 3.1, Princeton University

More about “motive”

✦Synonyms for motive✦Unscramble MOTIVE