MOTIVATION

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does motivation mean? 

• MOTIVATION (noun)
  The noun MOTIVATION has 3 senses:

1. the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior

2. the condition of being motivated

3. the act of motivating; providing incentive

  Familiarity information: MOTIVATION used as a noun is uncommon.

 Dictionary entry details 

• MOTIVATION (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior

Classified under:

Nouns with no superordinates

Synonyms:

motivation; motive; need

Context example:

he acted with the best of motives

Hypernyms ("motivation" is a kind of...):

psychological feature (a feature of the mental life of a living organism)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "motivation"):

life (a motive for living)

rational motive (a motive that can be defended by reasoning or logical argument)

irrational motive (a motivation that is inconsistent with reason or logic)

impulse; urge (an instinctive motive)

ethical motive; ethics; morality; morals (motivation based on ideas of right and wrong)

mental energy; psychic energy (an actuating force or factor)

Derivation:

motivate (give an incentive for action)

motivational (of or relating to motivation)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The condition of being motivated

Classified under:

Nouns denoting stable states of affairs

Context example:

his motivation was at a high level

Hypernyms ("motivation" is a kind of...):

condition; status (a state at a particular time)

Derivation:

motivate (give an incentive for action)

motivational (of or relating to motivation)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The act of motivating; providing incentive

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

motivating; motivation

Hypernyms ("motivation" is a kind of...):

act; deed; human action; human activity (something that people do or cause to happen)

Derivation:

motivate (give an incentive for action)

motivational (of or relating to motivation)

 Context examples 

It appears to reduce compulsive alcohol drinking without a generalized effect on motivation.

(New study identifies gene variant linked to compulsive drinking, NIH)

A coded value specifying the motivation, cause, or rationale of an activity.

(Activity Reason Code, NCI Thesaurus)

One of our motivations for this study was to understand if polystyrene actually does last that long.

(Sunlight degrades polystyrene faster than expected, National Science Foundation)

Do so now, while you have the motivation because soon you will become busy with your career.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

A reason, motivation, and/or rationale for the activity-instance, such as the patient condition which demanded an intervention, or a patient's request to perform a procedure.

(Cause or Rationale for Missed Study Activity, NCI Thesaurus)

A coded value specifying that an expected reason for something occurring was not the motivation, cause or rationale in this particular case.

(Non-Reason Code, NCI Thesaurus)

Has he/she lost interest in doing things or does he/she lack motivation for starting new activities?

(NPI - Lost Interest in the World Around Him/Her, NCI Thesaurus)

Changes in emotional stability, motivation, judgment or impulse control are usually noted.

(Organic Personality Syndrome, NCI Thesaurus)

The eCB system affects the brain’s motivation and reward circuits and can spark a desire for tasty foods.

(Molecular ties between lack of sleep and weight gain, NIH)

A coded value specifying the motivation, cause or rationale that is explicitly NOT why an activity occurred.

(Non-Reason Code, NCI Thesaurus/BRIDG)