as in to encourage
to rouse to action or activity
The presence of treats motivated the dogs to obey their owner's commands. They drove a campaign to motivate voters to show up to the polls.
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Examples Sentences
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Recent Examples of motivate
After a grim prognosis from a doctor, Sanchez was motivated to stop drinking cold turkey.
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Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 15 Dec. 2024
The slaying of Thompson has gripped the nation as police believe he may have been motivated by ill will towards the health insurance industry.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 13 Dec. 2024
The New York Police Department's Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that Mangione did not appear to have ever been a UnitedHealthcare customer, but may have been motivated by anger toward the health-care industry.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024
But overall there is a mass consensus that putting the country under martial law was an inexcusable action, no matter what motivated the president to do so.
—Joohee Cho, ABC News, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for motivate 
Daniel Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 15 Dec. 2024
The slaying of Thompson has gripped the nation as police believe he may have been motivated by ill will towards the health insurance industry.
—Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 13 Dec. 2024
The New York Police Department's Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said that Mangione did not appear to have ever been a UnitedHealthcare customer, but may have been motivated by anger toward the health-care industry.
—Daniel R. Depetris, Newsweek, 13 Dec. 2024
But overall there is a mass consensus that putting the country under martial law was an inexcusable action, no matter what motivated the president to do so.
—Joohee Cho, ABC News, 12 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for motivate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivate
Verb
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If a person has a bad reaction to a vaccine, federal officials encourage reporting to the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.Eduardo Cuevas, USA TODAY, 14 Dec. 2024
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Epic Narratives contains a contagious yet epic positivity and could be Band-Maid’s most formidable release, encouraging even new listeners to get hold of this album.SPIN Contributor, SPIN, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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For Democrats who agree with Raskin, no amount of calls for returning to normalcy will persuade them to attend Trump's swearing-in ceremony.Phillip M. Bailey, USA TODAY, 13 Dec. 2024
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Four vulnerabilities in WebKit were fixed in iOS 18.2, allowing memory corruption if you were persuaded to interact with malicious web content.Kate O'Flaherty, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Posey wasn’t sufficiently deterred by the fact that signing Adames, who had been extended a qualifying offer by the Brewers, will force the Giants to sacrifice their second- and fifth-round picks along with $1 million in international bonus money from their 2026 pool.Andrew Baggarly, The Athletic, 8 Dec. 2024
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About two dozen street vendors who were forced to pack up their wares as detectives investigated the shooting were spotted waiting outside the police cordon following the incident.Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 7 Dec. 2024
Verb
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China extends visa-free transit policy China has tripled the amount of time visitors can spend in the country without a visa in yet another move to entice more foreign tourists.Alexandra Banner, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024
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Email newsletters are admittedly pretty common, but those that entice audiences to routinely click through and engage with their content are a rare breed.Jodi Amendola, Forbes, 17 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Listening to all the ways my clients and colleagues were leveraging AI tools, I became inspired by the possibilities.Melanie Borden, Forbes, 16 Dec. 2024
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The logo shows a woman, inspired by her maternal grandmother Maria, with a rose adorning her hair — symbolizing her paternal grandmother Rosa — and her hair in a braid.Paula Soria, The Arizona Republic, 16 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Find it on Amazon This Wand Uses the Power of Red Light Therapy Red light therapy is a non-invasive procedure that can help to stimulate collagen production, maintain your skin’s natural moisture levels, and minimize the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.Claire Rutter, Rolling Stone, 12 Dec. 2024
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In theory, the policy eases access to funds, stimulates economic activity and boosts demand.Max Zahn, ABC News, 11 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Both drugs are used to induce abortions and help clear miscarriages.Bayliss Wagner, Austin American-Statesman, 13 Dec. 2024
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Chelsea Wootton, 31, was scheduled to be induced at 41 weeks pregnant, her law firm Irwin Mitchell said, according to the BBC.Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 9 Dec. 2024
Thesaurus Entries Near motivate
Cite this Entry
“Motivate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivate. Accessed 21 Dec. 2024.
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