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motive - 20 thesaurus results
| Main Entry: | motive |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | reason, purpose |
| Synonyms: | aim, antecedent, basis, cause, consideration, design, drive, emotion, end, feeling, grounds, idea, impulse, incentive, incitement, inducement, influence, inspiration, intent, intention, motivation, object, occasion, passion, rationale, root, spring, spur, stimulus, thinking, determinant, mainspring |
| Antonyms: | deterrent, discouragement, hindrance |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
| Synonyms: |
-nouns
motive, springs of action, wellsprings of action., reason, ground, call, principle; by end, by purpose; mainspring, primum mobile, keystone; the why and the wherefore; pro and con, reason why; secret motive, arriere pensee; intention [more]., inducement, consideration; attraction; loadstone; magnet, magnetism, magnetic force; allectation, allective; temptation, enticement, agacerie, allurement, witchery; bewitchment, bewitchery; charm; spell [more]; fascination, blandishment, cajolery; seduction, seducement; honeyed words, voice of the tempter, song of the Sirens, forbidden fruit, golden apple., persuasibility, persuasibleness; attractability; impressibility, susceptibility; softness; persuasiveness, attractiveness; tantalization. influence, prompting, dictate, instance; impulse, impulsion; incitement, incitation; press, instigation; provocation (excitation of feeling) [more]; inspiration; persuasion, suasion; encouragement, advocacy; exhortation; advice [more]; solicitation (request) [more]; lobbyism; pull., incentive, stimulus, spur, fillip, whip, goad, ankus, rowel, provocative, whet, dram., bribe, lure; decoy, decoy duck; bait, trail of a red herring; bribery and corruption; sop, sop for Cerberus., prompter, tempter; seducer, seductor; instigator, firebrand, incendiary; Siren, Circe; agent provocateur; lobbyist.
-verbs
induce, move; draw, draw on; bring in its train, give an impulse to; inspire; put up to, prompt, call up; attract, beckon., stimulate (excite) [more]; spirit up, inspirit; rouse, arouse; animate, incite, provoke, instigate, set on, actuate; act upon, work upon, operate upon; encourage; pat on the back, pat on the shoulder, clap on the back, clap on the shoulder., influence, weigh with, bias, sway, incline, dispose, predispose, turn the scale, inoculate; lead by the nose; have influence with, have influence over, have influence upon, exercise influence with, exercise influence over, exercise influence upon; go round, come round one; turn the head, magnetize; lobby., persuade; prevail with, prevail upon; overcome, carry; bring round to one's senses, bring to one's senses; draw over, win over, gain over, come over, talk over; procure, enlist, engage; invite, court., tempt, seduce, overpersuade, entice, allure, captivate, fascinate, bewitch, carry away, charm, conciliate, wheedle, coax, lure; inveigle; tantalize; cajole (deceive) [more]., tamper with, bribe, suborn, grease the palm, bait with a silver hook, gild the pill, make things pleasant, put a sop into the pan, throw a sop to, bait the hook., enforce, force; impel (push) [more]; propel [more]; whip, lash, goad, spur, prick, urge; egg on, hound, hurry on; drag [more]; exhort; advise [more]; call upon, press (request) [more]; advocate., set an example, set the fashion; keep in countenance., be persuaded; yield to temptation, come round; concede (consent) [more]; obey a call; follow advice, follow the bent, follow the dictates of; act on principle.
-adjectives
impulsive, motive; suasive, suasory, persuasive, persuasory, hortative, hortatory; protreptical; inviting, tempting; suasive, suasory; seductive, attractive; fascinating (pleasing) [more]; provocative (exciting) [more]., induced; disposed; persuadable (docile) [more]; spellbound; instinct with, smitten with, infatuated; inspired; by.
-adverbs
because, therefore (cause) [more]; from this motive, from that motive; for this reason, for that reason; for; by reason of, for the sake of, on account of; out of, from, as, forasmuch as., for all the world; on principle.
-phrases
fax mentis incendium gloriae; "temptation hath a music for all ears" [Willis]; "to beguile many and be beguiled by one" [Othello].
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| Antonyms: | absence of motive |
| Main Entry: | ax to grind |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | hidden motive |
| Synonyms: | agenda, hidden agenda, incentive, motivation, motive, reason, driving force, score to settle |
| Main Entry: | excitement |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | enthusiasm; incitement |
| Synonyms: | action, activity, ado, adventure, agitation, animation, bother, buzz*, commotion, confusion, disturbance, dither*, drama, elation, emotion, feeling, ferment, fever, flurry, frenzy, furor, fuss, heat*, hubbub*, hullabaloo*, hurry, hysteria, impulse, instigation, intoxication, motivation, motive, movement, passion, perturbation, provocation, rage, stimulation, stimulus, stir, thrill, titillation, to-do*, trepidation, tumult, turmoil, urge, warmth, discomposure, excitation, kicks, melodrama, wildness |
| Antonyms: | apathy, boredom, calm, calmness, dullness, lull, peace |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | expectation |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | belief, anticipation |
| Synonyms: | apprehension, assumption, assurance, calculation, chance, confidence, conjecture, design, expectancy, fear, forecast, hope, intention, likelihood, motive, notion, outlook, possibility, prediction, presumption, probability, promise, prospect, reliance, supposition, surmise, suspense, trust, view, looking forward |
| Main Entry: | explanation |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | clarification; reason |
| Synonyms: | account, annotation, answer, breakdown, brief, cause, comment, commentary, confession, definition, demonstration, description, details, display, elucidation, evidence, example, excuse, exposition, expression, gloss, history, illustration, information, interpretation, justification, meaning, mitigation, motive, narration, note, recital, rendition, report, resolution, sense, showing, significance, specification, statement, story, summary, tale, talking, telling, vindication, writing, explication |
| Antonyms: | complication |
| Main Entry: | incentive |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | lure, inducement |
| Synonyms: | bait, catalyst, come-on*, consideration, drive, encouragement, enticement, excuse, exhortation, goad, ground, impetus, impulse, incitement, influence, insistence, inspiration, instigation, motivation, motive, persuasion, provocation, purpose, rationale, reason, spring, spur, stimulant, stimulation, stimulus, temptation, urge, whip, allurement, carrot*, determinant, reason why |
| Notes: | the temporal orientation of incentive is toward the future; that of inducement is toward the past |
| Antonyms: | block, hindrance, turn-off |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | inspiration |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | idea, stimulus |
| Synonyms: | animus, approach, awakening, brainstorm*, creativity, elevation, encouragement, enthusiasm, exaltation, fancy, flash*, genius, hunch*, illumination, impulse, incentive, influence, insight, motivation, motive, muse, notion, revelation, rumble, spark, spur, stimulation, thought, vision, whim, afflatus, arousal, brainchild, deep think, inflatus |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | invitation |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | proposal; asking |
| Synonyms: | appeal, attraction, begging, bid, bidding, call, challenge, date, encouragement, enticement, feeler*, ground, hit, incitement, inducement, invite, lure, motive, offer, open door*, overture, paper, pass, petition, pressure, proffer, proposition, provocation, rain check, reason, request, suggestion, summons, supplication, temptation, urge, allurement, compliments, coquetry, prompting, solicitation |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | keynote/keystone |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | essence, theme |
| Synonyms: | basis, center, core, cornerstone, criterion, crux, gist, heart, idea, kernel, marrow, measure, motive, nub, pith, principle, root, source, spring, standard, substance, basic idea, linchpin, mainspring |
| Main Entry: | motivation |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | ambition, inspiration |
| Synonyms: | action, angle, catalyst, desire, disposition, drive, encouragement, fire, gimmick, hunger, impetus, impulse, incentive, incitement, inclination, inducement, instigation, interest, kick*, motive, persuasion, predisposition, provocation, push, reason, right stuff*, spur, stimulus, suggestion, wish, actuation, get up and go, goose*, impulsion, incitation, predetermination |
| Antonyms: | depression, discouragement |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | pick-me-up |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | stimulant |
| Synonyms: | catalyst, drug, incentive, motivation, motive, restorative, spur, stimulus, tonic, upper, analeptic, energizer, reviver, shot in the arm, spark pulg |
| Main Entry: | rationale |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | logic for belief, action |
| Synonyms: | account, excuse, explanation, exposition, grounds, hypothesis, justification, motivation, motive, philosophy, principle, raison d'être, rationalization, reason, reasons, song and dance*, sour grapes, story*, the big idea, the whole idea, theory, whatfor, why and wherefore, whyfor |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | root |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | base, core |
| Synonyms: | basis, bedrock, bottom, cause, center, crux, derivation, essence, footing, foundation, fountain, fountainhead, fundamental, germ, ground, groundwork, heart, inception, infrastructure, marrow, motive, nub, nucleus, occasion, origin, pith, provenance, quick, quintessence, reason, rock bottom*, seat, seed, soul, source, stem, stuff, substance, tuber, underpinning, well, beginnings, essentiality, mainspring, provenience, radicle, radix, rhizome, starting point, substratum |
| Antonyms: | derivation, derivative, sprout |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | spur |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | incitement, stimulus |
| Synonyms: | catalyst, goad, impetus, impulse, incentive, inducement, motivation, motive, needle*, prick, stimulant, trigger, urge, activation, actuation, excitant, goose*, incitation, turn-on |
| Antonyms: | curb, hindrance |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | stimulant |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | substance that invigorates |
| Synonyms: | catalyst, drug, goad, impetus, impulse, incentive, incitement, motivation, motive, pick-me-up*, restorative, spark plug, spur, stimulus, tonic, upper, analeptic, bracer, energizer, excitant, incitation, reviver, shot in the arm |
| Antonyms: | depressant |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | stimulus |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | provocation |
| Synonyms: | bang*, boost, catalyst, cause, charge, encouragement, fillip, fireworks*, flash*, goad, impetus, impulse, incentive, incitement, inducement, instigation, invitation, kick*, motivation, motive, push, spur, stimulant, stimulation, sting*, urging, eye-opener, incitation, piquing, propellant, shot in the arm, turn-on |
| Antonyms: | discouragement, hindrance, tranquilizer |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | topic |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | subject matter |
| Synonyms: | affair, argument, business, case, division, field, head, issue, material, matter, moot point, motif, motion, motive, point, problem, proposition, question, resolution, subject, text, theme, theorem, thesis, matter in hand, point in question |
| Main Entry: | urge |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | very strong desire |
| Synonyms: | appetite, compulsion, craving, drive, fancy, goad, impetus, impulse, incentive, itch*, longing, lust, motive, passion, pressure, stimulant, stimulus, sweet tooth*, weakness, wish, yearning, yen, appetition, druthers, fire in belly |
| Antonyms: | dislike, hate |
* = informal/non-formal usage
| Main Entry: | keynote |
| Part of Speech: | noun |
| Definition: | theme |
| Synonyms: | basis, center, core, cornerstone, criterion, crux, essence, gist, heart, idea, kernel, keystone, marrow, measure, motive, nub, pith, principle, root, source, spring, standard, substance, basic idea, linchpin, mainspring |
Roget's 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009 by the Philip Lief Group.
Cite This Source
Copyright © 2009, Dictionary.com, LLC. All rights reserved.
