Dictionary definition · 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"
- a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
- 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"
- impelling to action"it may well be that ethical language has primarily a motivative function"
Similar words
Source: Open English WordNet (CC BY 4.0).