Word a Day
motivate
What does motivate mean?
motivate (verb): to provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use motivate in a sentence?
- The weekly staff meeting was meant to motivate employees. (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0)
How do you pronounce motivate?
/ˈmoʊtəˌveɪt/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does motivate come from?
From motive + -ate (verb-forming suffix).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
What are synonyms of motivate?
Words related to motivate
From Princeton WordNet 3.1.
Test yourself: do you know “motivate”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “motivate” mean?
to arbitrate; to pass opinion on something, especially to settle a dispute etc
Not quite: that's what judge means.
to squander (money or resources) uselessly; to spend (time) idly; to dissipate
Not quite: that's what waste means.
to provide someone with an incentive to do something; to encourage; to actuate
Right! That's what “motivate” means.
to prohibit; to interdict; to proscribe; to forbid or block from participation
Not quite: that's what ban means.
Which word is closest in meaning to “motivate”?
report
Not quite: report means something else.
become
Not quite: become means something else.
happen
Not quite: happen means something else.
prompt
Right!
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