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
Officials do not believe that the incident was politically motivated or an act of terrorism but stemmed from an altercation in the crowd, Gabaldon said.
—Cerys Davies, Los Angeles Times, 12 Jan. 2026
In either case, talking about it externally and internally is a great way to get people motivated to learn about it.
—Diane Brady, Fortune, 12 Jan. 2026
In a rare video message, Powell rebuked the probe as a politically motivated effort to influence Fed policy.
—Max Zahn, ABC News, 12 Jan. 2026
Federal authorities are trying to determine whether the attack was politically motivated.
—David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 12 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Motivated.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/motivated. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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