motive
9 dictionary results for: motive
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
mo·tive 
[moh-tiv] Pronunciation Key noun, adjective, verb, -tived, -tiv·ing.
—Related forms
[moh-tiv] Pronunciation Key noun, adjective, verb, -tived, -tiv·ing. –noun
–adjective
–verb (used with object)
| 1. | something that causes a person to act in a certain way, do a certain thing, etc.; incentive. |
| 2. | the goal or object of a person's actions: Her motive was revenge. |
| 3. | (in art, literature, and music) a motif. |
| 4. | causing, or tending to cause, motion. |
| 5. | pertaining to motion. |
| 6. | prompting to action. |
| 7. | constituting a motive or motives. |
| 8. | to motivate. |
[Origin: 1325–75; (adj.) ME (< MF motif) < ML mōtīvus serving to move, equiv. to L mōt(us) (ptp. of movére to move) + -īvus -ive; (n.) ME (< MF motif) < ML mōtīvum, n. use of neut. of mōtīvus]
] —Related forms
mo·tive·less, adjective
mo·tive·less·ly, adverb
mo·tive·less·ness, noun
—Synonyms 1. motivation, incitement, stimulus, spur; influence, occasion, ground, cause. Motive, incentive, inducement apply to whatever moves one to action. Motive is, literally, something that moves a person; an inducement, something that leads a person on; an incentive, something that inspires a person. Motive is applied mainly to an inner urge that moves or prompts a person to action, though it may also apply to a contemplated result, the desire for which moves the person: His motive was a wish to be helpful. Inducement is never applied to an inner urge, and seldom to a goal: The pleasure of wielding authority may be an inducement to get ahead. It is used mainly of opportunities offered by the acceptance of certain conditions, whether these are offered by a second person or by the factors of the situation: The salary offered me was a great inducement. Incentive was once used of anything inspiring or stimulating the emotions or imagination: incentives to piety; it has retained of this its emotional connotations, but (rather like inducement) is today applied only to something offered as a reward, and offered particularly to stimulate competitive activity: to create incentives for higher achievement. 2. See reason.
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| mo·tive
(mō'tĭv) Pronunciation Key
n.
adj.
tr.v. mo·tived, mo·tiv·ing, mo·tives To motivate. [Middle English motif, motive, from Old French motif, from Late Latin mōtīvus, of motion, from Latin mōtus, past participle of movēre, to move; see meuə- in Indo-European roots.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
motive
motive
1362, "something brought forward," from O.Fr. motif (n.), from motif (fem. motive), adj., "moving," from M.L. motivus "moving, impelling," from L. motus, pp. of movere "to move" (see move). Meaning "that which inwardly moves a person to behave a certain way" is from c.1412.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| motive | |
adjective | |
| 1. | causing or able to cause motion; "a motive force"; "motive power"; "motor energy" |
| 2. | impelling to action; "it may well be that ethical language has primarily a motivative function"- Arthur Pap; "motive pleas"; "motivating arguments" [syn: motivative] |
noun | |
| 1. | 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" [syn: motivation] |
| 2. | a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music [syn: motif] |
| 3. | a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration [syn: motif] |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
motive mo·tive (mō'tĭv)
n.
An emotion, desire, physiological need, or similar impulse that acts as an incitement to action. Also called learned drive. adj.
Causing or able to cause motion.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law - Cite This Source - Share This
Main Entry: mo·tive
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French motif, from Middle French motif adjective, moving, from Medieval Latin motivus, from Latin motus, past participle of movEre to move
: something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act
NOTE: In criminal law, motive is distinguished from intent or mens rea. Although motive is not an element of a crime, evidence regarding motives can be introduced to help establish intent. In contract law, motive is usually distinguished from cause or consideration.
Main Entry: mo·tive
Function: noun
Etymology: Anglo-French motif, from Middle French motif adjective, moving, from Medieval Latin motivus, from Latin motus, past participle of movEre to move
: something (as a need or desire) that causes a person to act
NOTE: In criminal law, motive is distinguished from intent or mens rea. Although motive is not an element of a crime, evidence regarding motives can be introduced to help establish intent. In contract law, motive is usually distinguished from cause or consideration.
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Motive
Mo"tive\, n. [F. motif, LL. motivum, from motivus moving, fr. L. movere, motum, to move. See Move.]1. That which moves; a mover. [Obs.] --Shak. 2. That which incites to action; anything prompting or exciting to choise, or moving the will; cause; reason; inducement; object. By motive, I mean the whole of that which moves, excites, or invites the mind to volition, whether that be one thing singly, or many things conjunctively. --J. Edwards. 3. (Mus.) The theme or subject; a leading phrase or passage which is reproduced and varied through the course of a comor a movement; a short figure, or melodic germ, out of which a whole movement is develpoed. See also Leading motive, under Leading. [Written also motivo.] 4. (Fine Arts) That which produces conception, invention, or creation in the mind of the artist in undertaking his subject; the guiding or controlling idea manifested in a work of art, or any part of one. Syn: Incentive; incitement; inducement; reason; spur; stimulus; cause. Usage: Motive, Inducement, Reason. Motive is the word originally used in speaking of that which determines the choice. We call it an inducement when it is attractive in its nature. We call it a reason when it is more immediately addressed to the intellect in the form of argument.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Motive
Mo"tive\, a. Causing motion; having power to move, or tending to move; as, a motive argument; motive power. "Motive faculty." --Bp. Wilkins. Motive power (Mach.), a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
Motive
Mo"tive\, v. t. To prompt or incite by a motive or motives; to move.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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