MOTIVATES Synonyms: 74 Similar and Opposite Words

motivates

verb

present tense third-person singular of motivate

as in encourages

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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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of motivates Avoiding a loss motivates more than securing an equivalent gain. — Jamil Wyne, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2026 Plastered across the top of Jeff Bezos’ social media accounts is a history lesson that clearly motivates him. — Simon Hughes, New York Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Happen Bank motivates its depositors with a 4% base annual percentage yield for savings accounts with more than $250 in average monthly deposits and offers 2% back for on-time loan payments for checking accounts. — Justin Zacks, CNBC, 19 Aug. 2026 Elsewhere in his conversation with PEOPLE, 50 Cent reflected on what motivates his success after decades in the entertainment industry. — Erin Clack, PEOPLE, 2 Aug. 2026 What motivates a person to push past their limits doesn’t have to be poetic or even coherent. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 30 July 2026 What needs to be consolidated to create a space that motivates you? — Usa Today, USA Today, 19 July 2026 That the notion of being a more perfect union, not the perfect union, is really what motivates me. — NBC news, 5 July 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivates

Verb

This math subtraction worksheet encourages kids to cross out shapes to solve single-digit problems.

— Nicole Harris, Parents, 26 Aug. 2026
Stoddard encourages clients to try new coping tools during low-stakes moments, when their emotions are relatively mellow.

— Angela Haupt, Time, 26 Aug. 2026

Definition of encourages

Verb

When Idrissa Gueye’s pass to Vitalii Mykolenko entices Curtis Jones to press the left-back, Dewsbury-Hall and McNeil spot the space behind Ibrahima Konate and attack it.

— Ahmed Walid, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2026
The main sticking point is Real Madrid’s failure to offer something that entices both City and the player, whose contract expires at the Etihad on June 30, 2027.

— Tom Sanderson, Forbes.com, 6 Aug. 2026

Definition of entices

Verb

Coyote first hoodwinks and then forces Kevin into his lawsuit plans, taking Acme to task in a way the corporation, confident in its imperviousness, finds laughable.

— Angelica Jade Bastién, Vulture, 28 Aug. 2026
That forces them to interact with unknown adults that are outside the jurisdiction of the school.

— Michele Gile, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of forces

Verb

The eight-episode series, written by Peter Ocko, follows a giant tech conglomerate that persuades the city to place a powerful robot on its police force – a robot implanted with the consciousness of a beloved fallen officer, Alex Murphy (Stevens).

— Armando Tinoco, Deadline, 28 Aug. 2026
Nia then persuades Tefa to join her in smuggling cell phones into the regional prison.

— Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of persuades

Verb

Stronger trade winds help to move warm surface water away from the South American coast, which stimulates upwelling—that is, the movement of cold, dense, and nutrient-rich deep ocean water toward the surface.

— John P. Rafferty, Encyclopedia Britannica, 21 Aug. 2026
That extra load stimulates bones to grow denser and challenges muscles to adapt.

— Samantha Agate, Kansas City Star, 19 Aug. 2026

Definition of stimulates

Verb

Like most psychedelics, psilocybin’s effects are the result of interactions with a specific type of serotonin receptor in the brain, which both triggers the characteristic hallucinations and euphoria and induces neural plasticity.

— Mike McRae August 19, New Atlas, 19 Aug. 2026
Under Nevada law, someone who aids or abets a crime—or encourages, hires, commands, or otherwise induces another person to commit it—can be prosecuted as a principal.

— Rebecca Schneid, Time, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of induces

Verb

Now, new research reveals this kind of high-intensity training provokes a remarkably robust response throughout the bloodstream.

— Will Stone, NPR, 24 Aug. 2026
The film starts in nature, and the whole experience provokes ideas and inspires something closer to poetry than nostalgia.

— Jesse Kirshbaum, SPIN, 7 Aug. 2026

Definition of provokes

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“Motivates.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivates. Accessed 3 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of motivates

verb

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