motivator

noun

mo·​ti·​va·​tor ˈmō-tə-ˌvā-tər 

plural motivators

: one that motivates or impels someone or something

a subconscious motivator of behavior

: such as

a

: a factor or situation that causes people to feel motivated to do something : incentive

Only a fool, though, would deny that money is a very real and basic need and, of course, a motivator of sorts.

—Robert W. Corl

Exercising with someone else … can be a motivator.

—Joanne Lannin

Andre Harris, without basketball as a motivator, had slipped back into bad habits academically.

—John Feinstein

b

: a person who motivates others

But Romo's not an enabler; he's a motivator, says [Jessica] Simpson. "If I'm not feeling good about myself, he'll say, 'Get your butt up and go to the gym then!'"

—Michelle Tan

Examples of motivator in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In a series of studies involving investment professionals, ROTC cadets and physicians-in-training, Tewfik found that imposter thoughts, while often linked to fear, also served as a motivator for improvement. —Tanya Arturi, Forbes, 18 Mar. 2025

The invisible force is a powerful, primal motivator. —Michael Deeds, Idaho Statesman, 6 Mar. 2025

Respondents who picked countries further east, like Australia, said climate, interest in culture and strong public safety as their motivators. —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 4 Mar. 2025

Regime realism, a notion developed by the Johns Hopkins historian Hal Brands, while not rejecting the anarchic pursuit of power as the main motivator for any nation, concedes that some work to preserve and even promote democracy is warranted. —Neil MacFarquhar, New York Times, 26 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above