motive
An incentive to act in a particular wayAn incentive to act in a particular way; a reason or emotion that makes one want to do something; anything that prompts a choice of action.
» Tom had no motive to kill Mary.
У Тома не было мотивов для убийства Мэри.
Том не мав мотиву вбивати Мері.
Meaning
6 sensesAn incentive to act in a particular way; a reason or emotion that makes one want to do something; anything that prompts a choice of action.
Something which causes someone to want to commit a crime; a reason for criminal behaviour.
What would his motive be for burning down the cottage?
No-one could understand why she had hidden the shovel; her motives were obscure at best.
Motiv, Beweggrund
моти́вmotív, по́водpóvod
моти́вmotýv
(UK)A party, gathering, or get-together.
(UK)One's plans for the day or night.
What's the motive for tonight, lads?
(obsolete)An idea or communication that makes one want to act, especially from spiritual sources; a divine prompting.
(obsolete, rare)A limb or other bodily organ that can move.
- the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
- a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration
- a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music
Examples
138 sentencesTom had no motive to kill Mary.
Том не мав мотиву вбивати Мері.
ruУ Тома не было мотивов для убийства Мэри.
The motive for the murder isn't yet known.
Мотив убивства й досі невідомий.
Who had a motive to kill Tom?
У кого був мотив убити Тома?
Tom had a motive.
У Тома був мотив.
My motives were personal.
У мене були особисті мотиви.
Translations
8 languagesBy meaning 1
By meaning 1
By meaning 1
Origin
From Middle English motif, from Anglo-Norman motif, Middle French motif, and their source,From Middle English motif, from Anglo-Norman motif, Middle French motif, and their source, Late Latin motivum (“motive, moving cause”), neuter of motivus.
Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · source
Forms
plural: motivesSynonyms
4 synonyms- the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior:motivationneed
- a design or figure that consists of recurring shapes or colors, as in architecture or decoration:motif
- a theme that is repeated or elaborated in a piece of music:motif
Word family
9 related wordsCollocations
4 patterns- ulterior motives
- motive for the
- motive for doing
- the motive for