Synonyms for motivate
ˈmoʊ təˌveɪt

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 2 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. motivate, actuate, propel, move, prompt, incite(verb)

   give an incentive for action

   "This moved me to sacrifice my career"

   Synonyms:
   spark off, incite, remind, act, trip, spark, run, propel, impress, strike, impel, instigate, trigger off, move, displace, make a motion, trigger, inspire, prod, proceed, affect, be active, set off, go, prompt, activate, locomote, touch off, cue, travel, egg on, actuate, stir up

Wiktionary(4.00 / 5 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. motivate(verb)

   Antonyms:
   demotivate

2. motivate(verb)

   Antonyms:
   demotivate

3. motivate(verb)

   Antonyms:
   demotivate

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate these synonyms:

1. actuate

   anything that pushes someone or something forward

   her mother's motivational talk spurred her daughter to endure high school.

   Submitted by rinat on June 1, 2017  

PPDB, the paraphrase database(4.00 / 1 vote)Rate these paraphrases:

1. List of paraphrases for "motivate":

   motivating, justify, encourage, inspire, stimulate

How to pronounce motivate?

How to say motivate in sign language?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use motivate in a sentence?

1. Patricia Greene:

   That actually does motivate people, people like to feel good about where they work.

2. Brad Feld:

   I can’t motivate another person, but [I can] create a context in which they are motivated, and part of being a leader is to understand what motivates other people, most people struggle to understand how somebody else is motivated because they do it based on what motivates them.

3. Scott Adams:

   I'm slowly becoming a convert to the principle that you can't motivate people to do things, you can only demotivate them. The primary job of the manager is not to empower but to remove obstacles.

4. Jon Scieszka:

   I always tried to really motivate kids by getting them excited about stuff – and even being a little mysterious about it, just saying, "I don't know. We got this stuff. We have to figure it out. It's up to you guys," and then lay something on them. And I always found that really piqued their interest better than lecturing them.

5. Walzer Melcher:

   Profits motivate behavior, so paparazzi will continue to push the envelope and challenge legal attempts to stop them. Celebrities spend enormous sums on security to maintain their privacy and safety. The royal couple will be no different while they are in the U.S., having to foot the bill for that security.

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