How to Use motivate in a Sentence

motivate

verb
  • No one knows what motivated him to act in such a violent way.
  • The Bills still have things to play for and that will motivate Josh Allen to run a tight ship.
    Victoria Hernandez, USA TODAY, 22 Dec. 2022
  • The drive to better his craft is what motivates the 6-foot-2 point guard.
    Sam Cohn, Baltimore Sun, 5 Apr. 2023
  • Spruce up the walls in their study area with a cute framed print that will motivate them to achieve their goals for the school year.
    Monique Valeris, Good Housekeeping, 30 Aug. 2022
  • Williams couldn’t motivate his guys in what should have been the biggest game of the season.
    Greg Moore, The Arizona Republic, 11 May 2023
  • In the front, a drummer is perched on a seat to beat in rhythm with the strokes and motivate the team; in the back, a steerer keeps the boat on course.
    Serena Puang, BostonGlobe.com, 9 June 2022
  • She’s brought the same care to coaching, a unique style that shows there’s more than one way to motivate.
    Luca Evans, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2023
  • Use a New Year's quote to keep you inspired and motivate your TL.
    Carolyn Twersky, Seventeen, 9 Dec. 2022
  • There are about 100 pins include to motivate you to plan your next trip.
    Amanda Garrity, Good Housekeeping, 4 Jan. 2023
  • Use the full moon energy to motivate you to achieve those goals.
    Jacqueline Tempera, Women's Health, 30 June 2023
  • Drummond has used her mission as a way to motivate the kids in their own lives.
    Lilit Marcus, CNN, 29 May 2022
  • The new law isn’t the only thing that Democrats hope will motivate young voters this year.
    Los Angeles Times, 12 Aug. 2022
  • Petrie said that perceived slight will not motivate the Toreros.
    Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Dec. 2022
  • The killing was motivated by an attempt to steal pills from the victim.
    Louis Casiano, Fox News, 13 Feb. 2024
  • Both will be motivated by more than a ring in the finals.
    Steven Johnson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 31 May 2024
  • That was all the red corner could do to motivate their fighter.
    Tyler R. Tynes, Los Angeles Times, 27 Apr. 2023
  • Feeney said the recent deaths of her husband and son motivated her to reach out to Felder, who is now in his mid-80s.
    Anna Lazarus Caplan, Peoplemag, 28 Nov. 2023
  • There seemed to be hesitation in the crowd, and Chucky was trying to motivate the troops.
    Andrew Meier, New York Times, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Sharing your ideas will motivate others to pitch in and help.
    Eugenia Last, The Mercury News, 23 Feb. 2024
  • This is what has motivated me from the 1970s until now.
    USA Today, 19 Mar. 2023
  • Jonathan Gannon is about as motivating as the sound of your alarm clock going off in the morning.
    Jeremy Cluff, The Arizona Republic, 5 Sep. 2023
  • That’s a question that motivates researchers like Itoh and Abrams.
    Stephanie Pappas, Scientific American, 16 June 2023
  • Passions are the factors that motivate people both at work and at home.
    Laurel Donnellan, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024
  • Images that reveal the costs of climate change can motivate the public to act.
    Caterina De Biasio, Vogue, 3 July 2024
  • Being aware of this need for balance will bring about abundance and motivate you to live your best life.
    Ysolt Usigan, Woman's Day, 8 July 2022
  • More and more users seem to be asking for advice that will hurt their feelings enough to motivate them.
    Renée Onque, CNBC, 25 Oct. 2024
  • Guilt, on the other had, can motivate kids to find a solution.
    Aditi Shrikant, CNBC, 31 Dec. 2024
  • Because small amounts of progress can help motivate borrowers to stay the course.
    Ivana Pino, Fortune, 11 Nov. 2022
  • Nothing motivates me more than knowing there’s a lot of people that want more from me.
    Charis McGowan, Variety, 20 Mar. 2024
  • Musk & co are motivated only by burnishing their wealth while their opponents in the H1-B spat gain power by continually playing the immigration card.
    David Faris, Newsweek, 27 Dec. 2024

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'motivate.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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