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

High Mortgage Rates Make Renting More Affordable Than Buying Of course, getting a notice of a rent increase from the landlord has always been a strong motivator for a renter to consider homeownership. —Daryl Fairweather, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025

In a season obsessed with the impact of money on a person’s soul, whether scarcity can be as much a motivator as abundance, and the dilemma of what happens after giving one’s brother a hand job, Rick’s story was perhaps the most straightforward. —Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2025

Miller’s book also pays homage to Weaver the entertainer, motivator and sometimes comedian, including his legendary and theatrical run-ins with umpires. —Raymond Daniel Burke, Baltimore Sun, 29 Mar. 2025

Prices and economic growth were also a major motivator for the voters who sent Trump back to the White House for a second term. —Amelia Thomson-Deveaux, Chicago Tribune, 31 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above