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

Still, there are plenty of motivated buyers out there — including Fremont couple Krishna and Prashant Kumar Singh. —Kate Talerico, Mercury News, 28 Mar. 2025

Democrats are primed to have a motivated base in what are often lower turnout off-year elections. —Rachel Schilke, The Washington Examiner, 27 Mar. 2025

The 70-year-old may be far more motivated to get the yearly flu shot. —Petra Guglielmetti, Glamour, 26 Mar. 2025

The Heat have also just ended a brutal 10-game losing skid, and look extremely vulnerable against a motivated Warriors club looking to rocket up the Western Conference standings. —Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 25 Mar. 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