MOTIVATED Synonyms: 137 Similar and Opposite Words

motivated 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of motivated

as in diligent

having a strong desire for personal advancement He was lauded by faculty as an exceptionally hardworking, curious, and motivated student. The company was looking for motivated self-starters to fill the sales position.

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motivated

2 of 2

verb

past tense of motivate

as in encouraged

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 motivated

Adjective

Scaling is hard work, and without a motivated team, expanding will be grueling. — Hanneke Antonelli, Forbes.com, 13 Oct. 2026 While there are no plans to release it commercially, the team has published the design as open source on GitHub, so anyone sufficiently motivated can build their own. — New Atlas, 11 Oct. 2026

Verb

Thursday's lawsuit cites public comments made by top Justice Department officials and the president directed toward the plaintiffs as evidence the firings were motivated by political animus. — Sarah N. Lynch, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 Experts said that the attackers were most likely motivated by money. — Tiffany May, New York Times, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for motivated

Recent Examples of Synonyms for motivated

Adjective

Ever rigorous and diligent, Li creates vivid cradle-to-grave portraits of her two protagonists.

— Heller McAlpin, Christian Science Monitor, 16 Oct. 2026
On the other hand, a diligent study of the dynamics that got the stock back here can do that.

— Zev Fima, CNBC, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of diligent

Adjective

The poetry world in the city is multifarious and energetic, with waves of practitioners reading, listening to, and publishing one another.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 Oct. 2026
Stones, Soddu explains, have a very long history of being associated with energetic, medicinal, protective, and symbolic properties.

— Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of energetic

Verb

In the southern port city of Marseille, some shops and a municipal police station were damaged, while protesters briefly forced their way into the lobby of City Hall.

— SYLVIE CORBET, Arkansas Online, 18 Oct. 2026
Performers weren’t spared either, with several forced to perform in the rain without covering for both artists and their equipment.

— Isabel Rivera, Miami Herald, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of forced

Verb

The suspect, identified as Tyler Robinson, was detained following a 33-hour manhunt after his parents recognized him from surveillance footage broadcast in the media and persuaded him to turn himself in.

— Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026
What finally persuaded Keitel was a lengthy passage written by Ferrara’s collaborator Zoë Lund, who also plays a woman with whom the lieutenant mainlines heroine.

— Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of persuaded

Adjective

The cast was flanked by the dynamic duo behind the film, Alex Huston Fischer and Eleanor Wilson, who drew upon their real relationship to navigate some of the film’s trickier moments.

— Kenneal Patterson, Vanity Fair, 14 Oct. 2026
Because your husband should totally be your mentor, that’s a very healthy power dynamic!

— Emma Sharpe, Vulture, 14 Oct. 2026

Definition of dynamic

Verb

But while Cartman and Ike are in Sephora, they get enticed into going into the backrooms with an employee, which look straight out of Kane Parsons’ horror film.

— Payton Turkeltaub, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
During the mid-2000s, some tribal members, enticed by a chance at life-changing money, got involved in moving people and drugs, fueling cycles of arrest and incarceration that exacerbated challenges the community was already facing.

— Ryan Devereaux, ProPublica, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of enticed

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Style

“Motivated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/motivated. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of motivated

adjective

verb

Example Sentences

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