motive

/ˈmō-tiv/

Middle English, from Anglo-French motif, motive, from motif, adjective, moving, from Medieval Latin motivus, from Latin motus, past participle of movēre to move

noun

  1. something (such as a need or desire) that causes a person to act

  2. a recurrent phrase or figure that is developed through the course of a musical composition

  3. motif

Revenge was the murderer's motive.

motive impulse incentive inducement spur goad mean a stimulus to action. motive implies an emotion or desire operating on the will and causing it to act. impulse suggests a driving power arising from personal temperament or constitution.

adjective

  1. of or relating to motion or the causing of motion

  2. moving or tending to move to action

motive energy

verb

  1. motivate