motivated

adjective

mo·​ti·​vat·​ed ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-təd 

: provided with a motive : having an incentive or a strong desire to do well or succeed in some pursuit

a motivated employee

Courses are being offered on college campuses for those who are highly motivated but who without such help often drop out and are lost to society and themselves.

—Carol Kort

In a sporting context, for example, athletes who consistently seem to play hard and rarely concede defeat are often described as highly motivated or "competitive" by the media.

—Robert C. Eklund

Examples of motivated in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But other students denounced President Trump’s executive order as being politically motivated. —John Towfighi, CNN, 21 Feb. 2025

Trump has consistently maintained his innocence, calling the case a politically motivated attack. —Tom Rogers, Newsweek, 20 Feb. 2025

As a result, employees are more engaged, motivated and invested in the company's success, leading to higher levels of productivity, creativity and innovation. —Vivek Bhaskaran, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025

Judge Ho could decide that the dismissal request was politically motivated and the reasons for it were inadequate, legal experts said. —Hurubie Meko, New York Times, 17 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1903, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing motivated

• self-motivated

Rhymes for motivated

• abdicated
• abrogated
• acclimated
• activated
• actuated
• adumbrated
• advocated
• aggravated
• aggregated
• agitated
• allocated
• alternated